Ms Yvonne Cooke:

With respect to well-being and welfare, we have our own strategy in place which sets the foundation for all of the work in this area. Key services we have in place have been informed by operational colleagues telling us what they need. We have been significantly investing in the occupational health and well-being service, most recently advertising for and securing nurses into that area. We also recently ran a competition for occupational physicians. That will continue to add additional resources to that area.

Provisions are in place to cover all of the situations our colleagues will face and the issues that might arise for them. First, we have the employee assistance service, which is quite embedded now within my own directorate. We have 17 full-time staff - sworn and unsworn - supporting both operational and operational support colleagues. That is one of its kind in terms of policing. That is supported by a significant peer support programme, where colleagues are trained to support peers on the ground. Approximately 1,100 members across the organisation are trained.

We also have a 24-7, 365 days per year independent helpline and counselling service for all staff within An Garda Síochána. We have specific trauma informed counselling services because of what we have learned about post-traumatic stress disorder and the need to intervene at the earliest onset. There are also specific psychological supports for specialist areas. We have identified those whereby individuals will most likely come into contact with more psychological trauma because of what they are exposed to operationally. We have also run a significant number of well-being days, helping colleagues to understand themselves to see key signs of stressers and seek out help.

Through ongoing internal campaigns, engagement and communications, we have been trying to destigmatise the issue of mental health and trying to get people to come forward early to seek assistance. We now have a well-being stakeholder forum in place, headed up the chief medical officer. Staff association and union representation are part of that. It is very much focused on key activities that can be driven out locally.

We have also undertaken a staff attitudinal survey - the Durham survey, which the Deputy may be aware of. We have looked at the key findings of that and an agreement has been put in place that we will have an organisational working group focusing on activities that can be delivered at a local level. This is something we will continue to invest in because of the nature of policing and the trauma and exposure our people unfortunately witness day in and day out.