Twelve Gardaí currently suspended over sexual harassment and misconduct allegations

There are currently 12 members of An Garda Síochána suspended pending investigation into alleged sexual assault or sexual misconduct.

A further eight members are currently being investigated by An Garda Síochána or the Garda Ombudsman (GSOC) for domestic violence or coercive control, according to new figures from the Garda Freedom of Information (FOI) Unit.

The unit said 91 members had been suspended since Monday of this week, including two with a ban of between five and six years and another nine with a ban of between four and five years.

Another 20 will be suspended for three to four years, 24 for two to three years. About 21 will be suspended for one to two years, the remaining 15 for up to one year.

In addition to members suspended for alleged sexual harassment/sexual misconduct and domestic violence/coercive control, FOI figures show that 14 members are under investigation for alleged theft, forgery, fraud or dishonesty and 12 members are under investigation for driving while under the influence of intoxicants.

A further nine are suspended and under investigation for information disclosure/privacy/abuse of Pulse; nine are under investigation for alleged tampering with fixed price notices; eight for corruption/criminal association; five for assault/physical battery, and a further five are suspended while under investigation for drugs/drug-related activities.

The remaining nine suspended persons are being investigated for ‘other reasons’.

The FOI Unit states that “31 members of An Garda Síochána have been suspended for more than three years, with 23 of these members currently before the criminal courts and eight members suspended pending disciplinary or dismissal proceedings.”

The 91 suspended officers include 59 Gardaí, 11 Gardaí on probation, 11 Gardaí detectives, seven sergeants, two Gardaí reserve officers and “one inspector and above”.

Asked to comment on the figures, a Garda spokesman pointed out that the number of Gardaí currently suspended represents just over 0.5 per cent of the total number of sworn members of An Garda Síochána.

He said the number of Gardaí suspended at any given time could fluctuate, meaning a previously suspended person could no longer be suspended, or a suspended person could decide to resign, or a suspended person could be relieved of their duties as a Gardaí.

The spokesman said that there were currently (as of 25 June) 90 Gardaí suspended – compared to 115 at the end of 2022 – and that there had been no suspension of active members for official duties in 2024.

He added: “In 2024, 14 suspensions were lifted or otherwise terminated. It is Garda policy that each suspension is regularly reviewed on a quarterly basis.”

The spokesman pointed out that the suspension of Garda members from duty was essentially a statutory process regulated by the Garda Síochána Disciplinary Rules (2007).

Garda Representative Association (GRA) President Mark O’Meara said: “While we cannot comment on ongoing individual cases, we firmly believe that the current suspension policy is simply not transparent enough and that important rights and entitlements of members are violated during suspension, in particular the excessively long suspension period and the reasons and justifications for suspension and extended suspension.”

He said: “We believe in the need for oversight and accept the need for disciplinary procedures. However, these procedures must be conducted fairly, transparently and in a timely manner to ensure that members are treated in the same way as any other citizen and do not remain suspended for years with little or no progress being made.”

“At a time when our organization is suffering from chronic underfunding and staff shortages, we are calling for these procedures to be expedited so that our members have an early opportunity to defend themselves and receive a fair trial.

“While we welcome the recent reduction in the number of those suspended, we also express concern that some court cases have been overturned and potential convictions jeopardised because suspended members have not been allowed to appear in court to give evidence.”

He added: “We recently had a case where a member was suspended for more than three years for borrowing a bike before being fully exonerated. This exposed the flaws in the system: many members were suspended for many years before their case was reviewed.”