Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 March 2018
294. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the role of An Garda Síochána in the event that a person is reported by a member of the public as being suicidal in a public place with their life being in imminent danger; the protocols that apply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13676/18]
View answerI am informed by the Garda Commissioner that there are protocols in place for Garda members to respond to the type of event referred to in the Deputy's question. These are set out in the ‘Guidelines for First Responders – Suicidal Subjects’.
This policy sets out the process for declaring a ‘Hostage/Barricade/Suicide’ incident. When such an incident is declared, a trained ‘Operational Commander’ is deployed to take command of the incident. The Operational Commander will use all Garda resources available to him/her to assist the person whose life is in imminent danger. There are currently 35 trained Operational Commanders within An Garda Síochána with plans to train more during May 2018. Both the Negotiators and Operational Commanders receive mandatory refresher training annually.
The National Negotiation Unit and the Armed Support Unit (ASU) are routinely deployed to resolve incidents involving persons with suicidal intentions.
The National Negotiation Unit has a panel of seventy-five trained Garda Negotiators spread across every Garda region as an on-call resource. These negotiators should be deployed to any incident of the type described by the Deputy to begin dialogue with a view to influencing a safe conclusion. Training, deployment and governance of these negotiators rests with the National Negotiation Unit.
Arrangements are also in place which allow Garda Hostage Negotiators to access advice from a panel of Mental Health professionals if required to assist in a ‘Hostage/Barricade/Suicide’ incident.
The Armed Support Units (ASU), which are based in every Garda region across the State, receive training in the resolution of such incidents and carry a range of Less Lethal Devices should an intervention be required in order to protect life.
