Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand that tables may be provided to the Deputy. What I have here is the breakdown across the Garda regions of the average number of gardaí who were absent because of ordinary illness and those who were absent because they were injured on duty. For quarter 3 of 2019, the figure for ordinary illness was 1,743 and while it has varied in subsequent years, the figure for quarter 3 of 2023 is 1,962. Up until 31 October 2023, the figure was considerably lower, at 830. Obviously the figures vary but one has to look at the way in which they are broken down. The sickness absence management system splits the data into three categories, namely, ordinary illness, occupational illness or injury arising from duty, and critical illness. It is also important to note that while there will be people in any organisation who are out on sick leave, whether it is broken down in that particular way or not, there will always be a number of people, as is the case in An Garda Síochána, who are on career breaks or in work-sharing arrangements as well as on secondment, maternity leave, unpaid maternity leave or paternity leave.

Specifically with regard to people who were injured or out sick, I assure Deputy Daly that we are absolutely committed to protecting the health, safety and welfare of all Garda members and staff. This is reflected in the commitment of an additional €6 million allocated for Garda well-being initiatives, additional medical costs and over 2,500 units of body armour in budget 2024. I am very aware of how stressful the work can be for Garda members. We only have to look at the recent incidents in Dublin city centre for evidence of this. A number of support systems are in place to help gardaí address issues of stress and mental health, including the employee assistance service, as well as trauma counselling and peer support. I know there is more we can do in that regard in particular and I am proactively engaging with the Garda Commissioner and his team to see how I can provide further support for members who are potentially out of work due to stress or related illnesses.

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