Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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164. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of ongoing missing persons cases in the State. [55542/23]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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165. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons reported missing in the State in each of the past ten years and to date in 2023. [55543/23]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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166. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of children reported missing in the State in each of the past ten years and to date in 2023. [55544/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 164 to 166, inclusive, together.

I am deeply conscious of the ongoing distress for the families and friends of persons who go missing. The disappearance of any person is traumatic for their family and friends. My Department is committed to working with all relevant state bodies to help more families find their missing relatives.

Last week, my Department hosted a ceremony at Croke Park to mark Ireland’s National Missing Persons Day. Missing Persons Day is one of the most important days in the Department of Justice Calendar. It is an annual day of commemoration and takes place on the first Wednesday in December each year. The objective of Missing Persons Day is to commemorate all those who have gone missing and recognise the lasting trauma for their families and friends. Missing Persons Day also draws attention to open or unsolved missing persons cases, and creates an opportunity to provide information on available support services.

Last week's ceremony was attended by families and friends of missing persons, as well as a number of state bodies such as An Garda Síochána, Forensic Science Ireland, Office of the State Pathologist along with colleagues from the PSNI as well as a number of charitable organisations.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that, as of 1 December 2023, there were 834 people associated with missing persons incidents that are still recorded as missing.

A missing person investigation commences when the incident is reported to An Garda Síochána and is constantly reviewed at Superintendent level in the relevant Garda district at specific junctures within the investigation to ensure that all actions appropriate to the investigation are being pursued and that the appropriate resources have been assigned to the investigation.

It should be noted that all missing person investigations remain open until the missing person is located.

The table below, provided by the Garda authorities shows the breakdown of individuals reported missing by year 2014 – 2023.

While already included in the overall figure, the table below provided by the Garda authorities shows a 2014 – 2023 subset of individuals where the age of the missing person was between 0 and 17 years old on the day they were reported to have gone missing.

Figures were collated based on PULSE data as of 1:30am on 11 December 2023. Individuals may have been reported missing more than once in the year indicated. Counts are regardless of the current Missing Person Status (Missing/Found) of the individual. Figures are operational and liable to change.