Revealed: Figures show close to 15,000 sick days lost in Longford garda ranks

Approximately 14, 478 days were lost owing to ill health among officers and civilian staff based across both Longford and Granard garda districts between June 2019 and July this year.

In a series of Freedom of Information requests released to this newspaper, An Garda Siochana that on the day of the Leader’s FOI request on July 27, 15 garda members were signed sick from work.

It was also revealed five officers, three in Longford and two in Granard had been placed on restricted duties during the last three months of last year.

The Leader had asked for the release of figures which showed how many days had been lost to ‘special leave’, including Covid-related absences over the course of the same period.

This request was, however, refused on the basis that the Gardaí’s own internal Sick Absences Management System (SAMS) “does not record Covid absences as sick leave.”

Instead, the force’s Freedom of Information Office revealed: “Between June 1 2019 and July 21 2022, there have been 14,478 days lost due to ill health among staff including civilians in the Longford and Granard garda districts.”

In line with other public bodies, it was stated Covid related absences are recorded as “special leave” with the Garda Employee Management System (GEMS) not differentiating between those reasons.

In a statement, the Gardaí said in order to establish details of Covid related absences, a trawl through “all special leave absences would have to be conducted”.

The Leader also inquired as to how many gardaí have been referred for psychiatric or psychological assessment during the course of their work, a request which was denied owing to any associated records being unavailable.

It was, nonetheless, revealed, that one officer in the Roscommon/Longford division had been medically discharged from the force during the June 2019 to July 2022 period.