Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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187. 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 2024; and the number of whom are still missing. [41828/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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At the outset, I would like to acknowledge the pain and trauma experienced by all families of missing persons. I am deeply conscious of how difficult life is for loved ones who simply don't know what has happened to their relative. My Department is committed to working with all relevant state bodies to help more families find their missing relatives.

As the Deputy will be aware, by law the investigation of any missing persons case is an operational matter for An Garda Síochána. As Minister for Justice, I have no role in any individual Garda investigation.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the table below details the number of distinct individuals that have been reported as missing to An Garda Síochána during the years 2015 - 2024 and the number of individuals who are still missing as of 11 October 2024.

* Individuals may be reported as missing one or more times during the year indicated. The count is of distinct individuals regardless of how many times they were reported as missing during the year.

** Incidents reported from 1 January 2024 - 27 September 2024.

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.