Mr. Michael Ryan:

The first thing I would like to do is to acknowledge the role of An Garda Síochána in its work in mental health in sometimes very difficult situations where someone needs to be taken into care. We received much positive feedback around how people experienced that process. Gardaí themselves would be the first to admit that they would need more upskilling and training to support them in that work, and in the kind of things Ms Grogan outlined.

One of the things that might be relevant to this discussion is around the role of authorised officers and the fact that in the Act, gardaí can no longer perform that duty. As it stands, the Act could, potentially, leave someone in Garda custody for 24 hours, because it allows up to 12 hours to get an authorised officer and another 12 hours to organise a transfer to an appropriate unit. It is a concern. These people are ill and are not law-breakers and should not be detained longer than necessary. At some stage, it might be useful to discuss authorised officers and who can perform that duty.