Garda Síochána
Police and security service of the Republic of Ireland
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| April 2025 | Policing and Community Safety Authority was established, replacing the Garda Síochána Inspectorate and Policing Authority, to exercise oversight of the Garda Síochána and provide recommendations to the Minister for Justice. |
| 2025 | The title was altered to An Garda Síochána, further refining the organization's official name. |
| April 2025 | The Government agreed to reconstitute the Commission as 'Fiosrú – the Office of the Police Ombudsman'. |
| April 2 2025 | Emily Logan appointed as the Police Ombudsman, leading the newly restructured oversight body. |
| January 2025 | Sergeants, inspectors, and rank and file gardaí issued dark-blue baseball caps with the organisation's crest for operational duties. |
| 2024 | Reconstituted under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, changing from a three-member body to a single-person ombudsman. |
| 2023 | The organization had 13,910 sworn members and 363 Reserve Garda members, with a total of 3,342 non-member administrative and support staff. |
| 2023 | Garda Reserve membership dropped to under 400 members, significantly lower than its peak in 2014. |
| 2023 | Organizational restructuring with established specialized bureaus including National Cyber Crime Bureau, National Immigration Bureau, and National Protective Services Bureau. Total sworn members slightly decreased to 13,910. |
| April 2023 | A senior GSOC investigator resigned after attending a house party hosted by Gerry Hutch following his acquittal in the David Byrne murder trial. The resignation triggered a Garda investigation into GSOC due to potential conflict of interest. |
| April 2023 | Four members of the Garda Síochána were suspended pending investigation of confidential information leaks to the Hutch family, concurrent with the GSOC investigator resignation incident. |
| 2022 | Fourth iteration of the Garda uniform launched, replacing formal shirts and ties with a 'sky blue' polo shirt, loose-fitting operational trousers, and a yellow-and-dark-navy waterproof jacket. The new uniform applies to Garda, sergeant, and inspector ranks, with alternative head coverings like turban, kippah, and hijab now provided. |
| January 2022 | Rory MacCabe was appointed as the chairperson of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. |
| 2021 | Garda Síochána reached its peak staffing with 14,462 sworn members and 459 Reserve Garda members. |
| 2021 | Significant growth in organizational strength, with total sworn members reaching 14,462, including an increase in Inspector ranks to 425. |
| December 2021 | Mary Ellen Ring concludes her term as Commissioner. |
| February 2021 | Emily Logan and Hugh Hume join the Commission, with Simon O'Brien, Kieran Fitzgerald, and Patrick F. Sullivan concluding their terms. |
| 2020 | During the COVID-19 pandemic, An Garda Síochána hired approximately 200 vehicles to support community outreach efforts, including collecting prescriptions and transporting isolated and vulnerable people to medical appointments. |
| March 2020 | Continued rollout of the new Garda Operating Model across additional districts beyond the initial pilot areas |
| 2019 | GSOC received an increased budget and additional staff allocation, with the Minister for Justice expressing confidence in the organization's enhanced capabilities. |
| 2019 | The European Network Against Racism Ireland submitted a paper recommending the disbandment of the Garda Racial, Intercultural, and Diversity Office due to insufficient resources and manpower for addressing hate crime cases. |
| 2019 | Garda Fleet management Section reported a total of approximately 2,750 vehicles in service across various Garda Divisions and specialist units. |
| October 7 2019 | Pilot of the new Garda Operating Model began, initiating modifications to Garda districts with initial rollout in Galway, Cork City, Dublin South Central, Meath/Westmeath, and Limerick |
| April 2019 | The Garda Representative Association called for 24-hour armed support units in every division across Ireland. Minister Flanagan rejected the proposal, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the Garda Síochána as primarily an unarmed police service. |
| December 2018 | Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan provided updated specifics on firearms training and authorization for Garda Síochána, revealing approximately 2,700 personnel are currently authorized to carry firearms, with potential to increase to 3,500 based on operational requirements. |
| September 2018 | Drew Harris is officially appointed as Garda Commissioner, succeeding Dónall Ó Cualáin. |
| July 2018 | Patrick F. Sullivan joins the Commission. |
| 2017 | Garda Public Attitudes Survey revealed public satisfaction dropped to 74%, with less than half of respondents believing the organization was well-managed or world-class. |
| 2017 | A Garda member recorded and shared a CCTV video of Dara Quigley's arrest for public nudity to a WhatsApp group and subsequently on Facebook. Quigley, who lived with mental illness, took her own life several days later. The Garda who recorded and shared the video was not charged with a crime. |
| 2017 | The number of complaints against the Garda Síochána remained similar to the 2009 level, with approximately 2,000 complaints. |
| 2017 | Further training for Garda Reserve members was scheduled, though membership numbers began to decline. |
| November 2017 | Mark Toland's term concludes. |
| September 10 2017 | Nóirín O'Sullivan announces her retirement from the Garda Síochána. |
| 2016 | Policing Authority was established to provide governance and oversight of the Garda Síochána. |
| 2016 | Gardaí threatened industrial action, including work-to-rule and potential withdrawal of labour, due to disputes over pay and working conditions. |
| 2016 | Organizational snapshot indicates total sworn members increased slightly to 12,988, with the introduction of 2 Deputy Commissioners. |
| December 2016 | Mark Toland replaces Carmel Foley as a Commissioner. |
| May 2016 | The Irish Examiner reported that GSOC questioned the independence of the Guerin Report inquiry and sought to extend its investigation timeframe for more thorough examination. |
| February 2016 | The wife of former garda press officer Superintendent David Taylor filed a complaint with GSOC regarding a failure to preserve evidence. |
| January 2016 | The Policing Authority was established by Frances Fitzgerald as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. |
| 2015 | The Garda was reported to have no active officers proficient in Arabic, necessitating assistance from Interpol. Calls were made to recruit Arabic-speaking officers, particularly from the Irish Muslim community. |
| 2015 | Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 passed, further strengthening the oversight and governance of the Garda Síochána through the establishment of the Policing Authority. |
| November 2015 | GSOC was referred a case involving footage of a civilian being attacked with a police baton in County Wexford. |
| November 2015 | GSOC was referred a case about a young man who died while in police custody at Dublin Airport. |
| August 2015 | Mary Ellen Ring becomes a Commissioner of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. |
| March 2015 | GSOC initiated an investigation into an incident involving a homeless man being handcuffed, pepper sprayed, and trampled on by a Garda on Henry Street, due to significant public concern. |
| January 30 2015 | Simon O'Brien resigned as chairman of GSOC to take up a position with the Pensions Ombudsman Service in the UK, following calls for his resignation related to the Surveillance controversy. |
| 2014 | A controversy arose regarding the alleged abuse of process in cancelling penalty points for traffic offences, which resulted in multiple resignations. |
| 2014 | The Garda Reserve reached its peak strength of over 1,100 members, with 789 active Reserve Gardaí. |
| 2014 | Organizational snapshot shows total sworn members at 12,895, including 1 Commissioner, 0 Deputy Commissioners, and 10,459 Garda officers. |
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, List of vehicles used by the Garda Síochána, Garda Síochána & List of Garda districts, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.