Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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818. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of gardaí who have taken stress leave in each of the past five years and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [47794/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. This includes all internal Garda HR matters. As Minister, I have no role in this.

I have been advised by An Garda Síochána that stress leave is not a category of leave utilised in AGS. There is a sub-category on the Sickness Absence Management System for the recording of absences due to mental health. The following statistics have been compiled using the mental health illness subcategory, which may include stress.

Number of Members Recorded as taking Sickness Absence due to Mental Health Illness as published.

Policing as a profession exposes people to sometimes traumatic and challenging incidents and it is crucial that personnel have access to, and avail of, appropriate supports when they need them. I was pleased to announce that €6m was provided for Garda wellbeing initiatives in the recent Budget, as part of an unprecedented allocation of €2.31 billion.

In conjunction with the Employee Assistance Service, a Peer Supporter Programme was established within An Garda Síochána. Peer supporters are colleagues who have received appropriate training to help members cope with the effect of a traumatic incident in the workplace.

Since June 2016, a 24/7, 365 Independent Helpline and Counselling Service is available to all staff within An Garda Síochána with the service available for both work and personal difficulties. Each member of the organisation may avail of six free sessions of counselling per year, an additional two will be provided if clinically approved.

In addition, trauma-based counselling is also now available to all personnel following on from a traumatic incident in work. Work is also at an advanced stage in terms of delivering Mental Health First Aid training to all Garda personnel over 2023/2024.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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819. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of ongoing investigations into bullying within the Garda. [47795/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, by law the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management of An Garda Síochána, including all matters relating to discipline and human resources. As Minister I have no role in these matters, nor can I comment on individual cases.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that there are 24 ongoing investigations in line with the ‘Working Together to Create a Positive Working Environment’ policy and ‘Dignity at Work’ policy, which outline the policies and procedures for dealing with Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Bullying in the Workplace within An Garda Síochána.