Number of gardaí injured while on duty dropped by 19% in 2024
Seán McCárthaigh
The number of gardaí injured while on duty fell by 19 per cent last year, although approximately one in 25 of all frontline officers still suffered some type of physical harm in the course of their work during 2024.
New figures published by An Garda Síochána show a total of 555 gardaí suffered injuries while performing their duties last year – a decrease of 126 on 2023 numbers.
The figures, which were released under freedom of information legislation, reveal that more than half of all workplace injuries sustained by gardaí last year were as a result of an assault.
They include three gardaí who were injured during violent clashes in July with anti-immigration protesters outside the former Crown Paints factory in Coolock which was earmarked to house international protection applicants.
However, they do not include two off-duty officers who were seriously injured in an alleged assault on Dame Street in December.
A total of 309 incidents of gardaí being assaulted in the line of duty were recorded last year with almost 10 per cent of such cases being reported in just one Garda division – Kerry.
In November 2023, the government increased the maximum sentence for assaulting or threatening to assault a Garda or any other on-duty emergency worker from 7 to 12 years.
Overall, approximately four per cent of all frontline gardaí suffered some type of injury at work last year based on the latest Garda staffing figures which relate to October 2024.
However, the rate was as high as 12% in Kerry where 41 out of the 340 gardaí in the division experienced some type of injury, including 30 who were assaulted.
They included four officers who were assaulted in April after they had arrested a wheelchair-bound male who subsequently threatened to get terrorists he knew to bomb Killarney garda station.
Other divisions with above-average rates of workplace injuries to gardaí included Sligo-Leitrim where 10 per cent were recorded as being injured during 2024 as well as Clare-Tipperary (seven per cent) and Galway and Louth-Cavan-Monaghan (both six per cent).
Several Garda divisions recorded an injury rate among staff of two per cent – half of the national average – including Dublin North Central, which has one of the highest crime rates in the country, as well as Kildare, Laois/Offaly and Dublin South.
The highest number of gardaí injured in a single Garda division last year was 48 in Clare-Tipperary – a decrease of two compared to 2023.
As well as 27 gardaí being assaulted in Clare-Tipperary, 11 gardaí from the division were also injured in road traffic collisions while on duty.
The division ed for more than one in seven of a total of 70 gardaí nationwide injured in crashes last year.
The third most common source of injury for gardaí in 2024 after assaults and road traffic collisions was slips, trips and falls which resulted in injuries to 66 .
A further 43 gardaí reported being injured due to what was classified as “body movement”, while 31 officers were injured by coming in with something pointed, sharp or rough.
Separately, another 11 gardaí suffered a needle stick or stab injury or exposure to blood or other type of body fluid.
A total of 10 gardaí were recorded as being injured by an animal last year, while two gardaí in Wicklow reported being injured from smoke inhalation.
There was a single case of a garda, who was based in the Dublin North division, suffering from psychological shock and/or trauma.
In addition to 23 Garda divisions, the figures also show a total of 35 gardai attached to specialist units last year were injured in the line of duty with a fifth of such cases due to road traffic collisions.
