Sinn Féin spokesperson for Justice Martin Kenny TD has expressed his alarm at media reports related to cancellation of 999 calls.

Teachta Martin said: 

“The details that are emerging are extremely worrying. 999 calls into the thousands were allegedly cancelled by members of An Garda Síochána, including 1,000 priority 1 calls relating to domestic violence, assault or burglary.

“Confidence that Gardaí will respond when they are needed is such a basic foundation of policing that it should go without saying. If the details are correct, this is simply unacceptable. 

“I will contact the Minister for Justice to express Sinn Féin’s concern at these revelations and to urge the Minister to revisit her plans to replace the Policing Authority in the forthcoming Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill.

“I have also written to the Justice Committee to request an invitation be extended to Commissioner Harris to come before the committee to give a full account of the matter. 

“I understand the Commissioner is also due to outline the figures involved to the Policing Authority in June. That is not an urgent enough timeline and we must have immediate transparency and a full investigation.”