Louth County Council confirms reinstatement for CCTV for Drogheda

Louth County Council has confirmed it is engaged in a tender process for reinstatement of CCTV for the Moneymore area in Drogheda.

Moneymore is one of the areas in the town that has been impacted by the gang feud and an inter-agency committee on Moneymore was formed last year in response to the feud.

The committee is chaired by the chief executive of Louth County Council, Joan Martin, and the membership is from a range of local statutory and development agencies.

It met again in recent days following the escalation of violence in the town.

Ms Martin said: “Tragically, the Drogheda feud has escalated with devastating impact, and has cost the lives of three people.

"The reputation of Drogheda has also suffered and we need to work together to support and implement actions to repair this damage.”

When the agency was formed last year, there was a commitment given that local agencies would work collaboratively to deliver on a series of actions that would improve people’s experience of living in the area.

A number of those actions have been acted on and yesterday Ms Martin said:

“A commitment was also given to the Moneymore community that CCTV would be reintroduced in the area.

Louth County Council is currently engaged in a tender process for the awarding of a contract to reinstate CCTV into Moneymore and other areas, and provision to fund this scheme is with the Government. Priority is being attached to this important action.

The committee also agreed to increase monitoring a nd implementation of the actions identified by the committee., based on the concerns of local residents.

In a statement, the agency said that at the meeting, Garda Chief Supt Christy Mangan said he was satisfied with the level of policing resources at his disposal, and said that An Garda Síochána will continue to provide effective policing for the people of Drogheda.

However, he said that in addition to policing, inter-agency work and collaboration in areas such as infrastructure improvements, community development initiatives, educational opportunities, peer education training, supporting families, counselling, and the provision of drugs services were also required to reduce the impacts and instances of feuding.

The agencies who are involved in the inter-agency collaboration include the Health Service Executive, (Social Inclusion Unit) Louth Meath Education Training Board, the Probation Services, North East Region Drugs and Alcohol Task Force, Tusla, Louth Leader Partnership Company, An Garda Síochána, and Louth County Council.