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. |
| October 18 2023 | Laser, a long-serving dog in the Garda Dog Unit, retired after more than a decade of service, gaining national media attention for his dedicated work. |
| July 2023 | A new Garda Dog Unit was approved for the Sligo and Leitrim division, expanding the unit's geographical coverage. |
| 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.
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Motion – Dáil Éireann (33rd Dáil) – Wednesday, 27 Jan 2021 – Houses of the Oireachtas
www.oireachtas.ie
Appointment of Members to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Motion – Seanad Éireann (26th Seanad) – Tuesday, 26 Jan 2021 – Houses of the Oireachtas
www.oireachtas.ie
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| 2020 | Musician Jinx Lennon released a song titled 'McCabe + the Big Machine' about the Garda whistleblower scandal on his album Border Schizo FFFolk Songs For The Fuc**d |
| 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. |
| November 2018 | Sean Ryan is appointed as a second member of the Disclosures Tribunal. |
| October 31 2018 | Maurice McCabe announced his retirement from the Garda Síochána. |
| October 11 2018 | The third interim report of the Tribunal is released, vindicating Sergeant McCabe, Nóirín O'Sullivan, and Frances Fitzgerald, while severely criticizing Martin Callinan and David Taylor. |
| 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 | The second interim report of the Disclosures Tribunal finds claims by Garda Keith Harrison and Marisa Simms to be 'entirely without validity'. |
| November 2017 | Mark Toland's term concludes. |
| September 2017 | Dónall Ó Cualáin becomes Acting Garda Commissioner in September 2017, serving until September 2018. |
| September 10 2017 | Nóirín O'Sullivan announces her retirement from the Garda Síochána. |
| July 4 2017 | Public sittings of the Disclosures Tribunal commence, initially examining the circumstances of an incorrect sexual abuse report against Sergeant McCabe. |
| February 27 2017 | Judge Peter Charleton formally opens the Disclosures Tribunal with an introductory statement, investigating protected disclosures and related matters. |
| February 9 2017 | Irish Examiner reports on Maurice McCabe's treatment, revealing details about his reporting to Tusla for alleged child sexual abuse, which provoked public outrage. |
| 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. |
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Garda whistleblower scandal, List of Garda districts, Garda Síochána, List of vehicles used by the Garda Síochána, Garda Dog Unit, Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission & Garda Commissioner, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.