An Garda Síochána

Thursday, 30 November 2023

Questions (430)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

430. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí who took work-related stress leave and those who resigned from the force citing post-traumatic stress disorder as a reason for both; what supports are available from the State to current and former members of An Garda Síochána suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in each of the past ten years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52920/23]

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Written answers

Minister for Justice

I can assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána is committed to protecting the health, safety and welfare of all Garda members and Garda staff. This commitment is reflected in the €6 million allocated for Garda wellbeing initiatives, additional medical costs and over 2,500 units of body armour in Budget 2024.

I also want to make it clear that I am very aware of how stressful and difficult the work of members of An Garda Síochána can be. There are a number of support systems in place to help Gardaí address issues of stress and mental health, including the Employee Assistance Service, trauma counselling, Psychological Support Programme, as well as peer support.

Last year An Garda Síochána launched 'Keeping Our People Supported', the Health and Wellbeing Strategy Statement and Action Plan 2021-2023. This plan identified three key goals to improve the health and welfare of Gardaí.

These goals were to identify, communicate and enhance existing resources to promote health, wellbeing and work ability across the organisation, to develop partnerships with key stakeholders inside and outside the organisation in order to to build capacity, and to provide support and advice.

A new wellbeing app KOPS ("Keeping Our People Supported") was launched as part of the strategy. The app makes support available to members of An Garda Síochána on a 24/7 basis and can be accessed on any mobile device. It was created to ensure members who may be distressed and in need of urgent assistance can access the supports available to them at any time.

I am advised that Garda Pensions do not record the reason for resignations, and therefore cannot provide the number of Gardaí that resigned due to work related stress or post-traumatic stress disorder.

The table below, which was provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the number of Garda members who have resigned from An Garda Síochána in the last 10 years, up until the end November 2023.

Year	Number of Resignations
2014	27
2015	20
2016	24
2017	41
2018	77
2019	72
2020	70
2021	94
2022	109
2023 ( up to end November)	156
Total	690

Please note that the figures are operational and may be subject to change.

I am advised that there is currently no specific sub-category on the Sickness Absence Management System for the recording of absences due to stress, anxiety or depression but in some cases, this is recorded under the Mental Health sub-category or in the comments field against another sub-category.

The table below, which was provided to me by the Garda authorities, sets out the number of Garda members who are recorded as taking sickness absence due to mental health illness.

Year	Number of Garda Members
2023 up to 26/11/2023	38 Members
2022	50 Members
2021	47 Members
2020	51 Members
2019	54 Members
2018	58 Members
2017	68 Members
2016	61 Members
2015	54 Members

Please note that the figures are operational and may be subject to change.

The above statistics have been compiled using the Mental Health illness subcategory. There is no guarantee that all absences due to stress, anxiety or depression have been recorded under this sub-category.

I am advised that the figures for 2015 – 2022 are acquired from the Annual Commissioner Reports and are correct at the time each yearly report is run. I am further advised that the Garda authorities are unable to provide sick leave statistics prior to 2015 as the Sickness Absence Management System (SAMS) was only introduced in 2015.