Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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606. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the protocol in An Garda Síochána to act upon reports of a potential suicide. [28394/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for submitting this question. I very much appreciate the devastation which is caused to every family impacted upon by such tragic situations.

I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that there are protocols in place for Garda members to respond to reports of a potential suicide. HQ Directive 75/2014, the Hostage/Barricade/Suicide Incident Command Policy, sets out An Garda Síochána’s policy on the use of force and Garda negotiation/response/tactics in both planned and incidents that require a spontaneous response by members of An Garda Síochána to manage hostage, barricade, and suicide incidents.

The response by An Garda Síochána to reports of potential suicide incidents are in line with this policy of containment and negotiation for a safe resolution.

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.

The National Negotiation Unit and the Armed Support Unit (ASU) are routinely deployed to resolve incidents involving persons with suicidal intentions. All members of the National Negotiation Unit have undertaken a Suicide Assist Course and some members attached to Special Tactics Operations Command (STOC) have undergone a two day mental health first aid course to assist with understanding and dealing with such situations.