Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 June 2017
45. Deputy Seán Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the training which is in place for gardaí to deal with situations that may arise with elderly persons suffering with dementia and vulnerable persons suffering with mental illness; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26327/17]
View answerThe Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is responsible for managing and controlling generally the administration and business of An Garda Síochána, including by arranging for the training of its members and civilian staff and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter.
I have requested the specific information sought by the Deputy from the Commissioner and I will write to him upon receipt of same.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A
I refer to your Parliamentary Question No. 45 for answer on Thursday, 1 June 2017, the text of which was as follows:-
"To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the training which is in place for gardaí to deal with situations that may arise with elderly persons suffering with dementia and vulnerable persons suffering with mental illness; and if she will make a statement on the matter."
At the time the then Minister responded that she would request the information sought by you from the Commissioner and she would write directly to you on receipt of the same.
I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that the during Phase 1 of the Applied Policing Programme, trainee gardaí are exposed to and challenged with the issues surrounding elderly persons suffering from dementia and also vulnerable persons suffering from mental illness.
The training programme is delivered using a problem based learning approach (PBL), and includes a module on Policing with the Communities. As part of this module under Unit 4 Vulnerable Community - the trainees receive lectures on the needs of the elderly and how best to respond to them and under Unit 5 - Mental Illness Awareness, trainees focus on the area of the elderly and mental illness.
I am further informed by the Commissioner that in addition to this and as part of the BA programme, the trainees attend a 2.5 days of workshops run in conjunction with Garda College instructors and the HSE National Suicide Prevention Office. These workshops are considered the best practice programmes in the world for dealing with persons who present with suicidal thoughts. These programmes are produced by Living Works, a Canadian based company.
The vulnerability of suspects, witnesses and injured parties is also embedded in all training courses for Investigative Interviewing with Level 3 Investigative Interviewing addressing the area of memory through the use of enhanced cognitive interview skills. The areas of personality disorders and mental health are also covered on these training courses
I hope this information is of assistance to you.
