Number of Gardai suspended fell by over 50 per cent in 2024
Thirteen officers were suspended in 2024, compared to 27 in 2023
The number of new Garda suspensions has more than halved in a year, it has emerged.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris’ latest monthly report to the independent Policing Authority showed that some 13 officers received notification of suspension in 2024 – compared to 27 for 2023. He told the Authority, which oversees the force, that some 88 officers remained suspended in 2024, with some cases stretching back five years – but a further 34 had their suspensions ended.
Of that figure, one officer was dismissed, 13 retired or resigned, while 20 had the suspension lifted after investigations by Gardaí or GSOC, the independent policing watchdog.
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He said that, of the ongoing cases, 15 were suspended for alleged theft, forgery, fraud or dishonesty. A further 10 were suspended over alleged sexual assault or sexual misconduct.
A further nine were suspended over allegations of interfering with motoring fines, while eight were suspended for allegations of domestic violence or coercive control. There are also eight officers currently under suspension for alleged corruption – and the same number are not allowed to work over allegations of misuse of PULSE, the force computer system or other data protection issues.
Six officers, meanwhile, remained suspended in 2024 for allegations of assault – while five were on suspension over alleged drug use. There were some 44 suspensions in 2022 and 2021 and 41 in 2020.
Commissioner Harris also revealed his officers recorded use of force some 923 times in November – slightly up on October’s figure of 906. The use of force incidents saw 14 civilians and 10 Gardaí injured. Gardaí used taser stun guns twice in November, pepper spray on 90 occasions and their ASP batons 16 times. The Commissioner also revealed that Gardaí policed more than 1,000 demonstrations up to the second week of December in 2024.
He said: “An Garda Síochána continue to provide a policing response, including traffic management, to a great number of protests nationally. This type of incident can be resource-intensive due to potentially large numbers of people involved. The Israel/Palestine conflict and anti-immigration/housing of refugees continue to be the main causes for protests/demonstrations.”
Of the 1,148 protests, Dublin saw the bulk of protests, with 636. There were 235 in the eastern region, 201 in the southern region – and just 76 in the north western region.
Commissioner Harris also revealed that Gardaí found nine stowaways at Rosslare Europort in three separate incidents in November – five were deported immediately and four have now claimed asylum here. Two of the incidents happened on one day, he said. Three foreign nationals were found on a trailer in a ship that had just sailed into the port from Bilbao in Spain.
He said: “Immigration Officers searched a trailer packed with cardboard boxes. Among the boxes were three foreign nationals. All were refused leave to land and were escorted back on the midnight sailing to Bilbao.” Officers then stopped a Spanish registered lorry coming off the ship – and found two foreign nationals hidden inside.
Mr Harris said: “Both stowaways were refused leave to land under the Immigration Act by Gardaí and were returned to Bilbao on night sailing. Additionally, in November 2024, four stowaways were discovered on board a vessel en route to Rosslare Europort from Zeebrugge in Belgium.
“The crew discovered one person on the deck of the ship, who led them to three other persons in hiding. At Rosslare, Gardaí attached to the Immigration Unit boarded the vessel and removed the four stowaways. They were refused leave to land and conveyed to Wexford Garda Station, where they were processed under the Immigration Act. They have since claimed asylum and were processed in line with procedures.”
The Commissioner also revealed that last month, a woman from Malawi in Africa was jailed for two years after she was caught in April trying to smuggle three children through Dublin Airport so they could claim international protection here.
He said: “Gardaí encountered a Malawi female who presented off a flight to Dublin as a tourist with three persons she alleged were her biological children. Investigation determined that she was not the biological mother of these children, with two confirming that the purpose of the trip was to claim international protection. The suspect was arrested and detained.
“The suspect was subsequently charged with three offences of people smuggling contrary to Section 6 (1) of the Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Act, 2021 and was convicted before Dublin Circuit Court on 14 November 2024, and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.”
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