158 gardaí assaulted in Mayo Longford Roscommon division in past decade
The statistics were provided by the Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, in response to a parliamentary question submitted by the Aontú TD Paul Lawless.
A total of 158 Gardaí were assaulted while on duty across the Mayo/Roscommon/Longford Garda Division over the past ten years, according to new figures.
The statistics were provided by the Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, in response to a parliamentary question submitted by the Aontú TD Paul Lawless in March 2026.
Deputy Lawless further stated that in response Aontú has introduced a bill in the Dáil which seeks a mandatory minimum prison sentence for anyone who assaults a Garda on active duty.
Deputy Lawless stated that for many decades, the Gardaí have been hugely respected by the public, but this data shows that there is a trend in the opposite direction.
“In recent years, we have had a huge problem with recruitment and retention within the Gardaí. Garda morale is at the floor. The main reasons people are leaving the force or not joining in the same numbers are because of pay and conditions,” he said.
He further stated that many Gardaí have reported that the job is incredibly stressful, and some have faced serious abuse and assault while on the line of duty.
“In cases like the Dublin Riots, we saw pure chaos and carnage and not enough manpower, indeed, I've been informed that the system for responding to outbreaks of violence like that involved management sending WhatsApp messages to frontline Gardaí, rather than a professional, coordinated response strategy".
The Mayo, Roscommon, and Longford divisions were merged into a single Mayo/Roscommon/Longford Garda Division in 2022 as part of the nationwide rollout of the An Garda Síochána Operating Model.