Conference Report 2016

Section 3: Sub-committee Reports
wElfARE
We are all concerned by the evident increase over recent
years of the number of our colleagues who have taken
their own lives. Many of us have been directly affected
by these tragedies and some have been involved in the
consequential investigations that result. While the
Central Statistics Office cannot supply data on suicide
rates by occupation, it is apparent that the number of
members of An Garda Síochána who have committed
suicide is high when compared to figures for the general
population in the relevant age group. It is of particular
concern that the trend has increased dramatically in this
organisation while it is downward in the general
population.
The Welfare Committee have liaised with Dr Claire Hayes,
consultant clinical psychologist, Clinical Director with
AWARE and author of several books on stress and
coping. Dr Hayes agrees with this Association’s call for a
Wellbeing Survey of members to be undertaken. She is
also of the view that all professional supports for
individuals with mental health issues or potential issues
should be easily accessed and without bureaucratic
delays.
We have also met with the National Office for Suicide
Prevention (NOSP), which was set up in 2005 within the
HSE to provide support for the implementation of a
national suicide prevention strategy. NOSP maintain that
effective suicide prevention strategies “must be rooted
in robust data about the risk and protective factors
affecting particular population groups. Identifying what
groups are vulnerable to suicidal behaviour and trying to
identify what puts them at risk and what can help to
protect them is essential in designing effective
responses” NOSP have identified a list of priority groups
based on analysis of information available to them
consisting of evidence of vulnerability to and increased
risk of suicidal behaviour. Occupational groups identified
were healthcare professionals and those working in
isolation (vets, farmers) NOSP agree that our figures are
cause for concern. They have a helpful websiteyourmentalhealth.ie
which provides a wide range of
useful information.
As mentioned above and in last year’s report we are
calling for a wellbeing/stress survey to be conducted and
await a decision. It is worth recalling that the last such
survey among our members was in 1998. This was
conducted for this Association by the Department of
Applied Psychology, NUI, Cork. It was noted in the
Executive Summary of this study -
“An examination of stress in occupations such as
policing seems particularly important. In any
organisation, high levels of stress would be a source for
concern, but it seems all the more important given that
the work of police officers may impinge on the safety,
wellbeing, liberty and even life of other individuals in
society.”
The case for conducting such a survey is compelling and
organisations such as the Health and Safety Authority,
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work,
World Health Organisation, International Labour
Organisation, Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development, Labour Relations Commission et al, are all
advocates.
We have called for a Wellbeing section on the Garda
Portal. This could provide advice and information on the
hazards of work related stress, shift work, diet, nutrition,
exercise, substance abuse, addiction, sleep, general
health and mindfulness. Links to other relevant agencies
websites (NOSP for example) should be included. This
type of support is available to many employees in the
private and public sector many of whom are involved in
lower risk employments than our members.
We call for the information required by Section 9.1 of the
Working Time Agreement (HQ Directive 3/13) to be made
readily available –
“9.1 Medical advice shall be provided by the Chief Medical
Officer in self-care and health management arising from
the obligation to perform shift work.”
In June 2015 the Minister for Health, Mr Leo Varadkar and
the Government signed off on the Health and Wellbeing
(Workplace Wellbeing) Bill which if enacted will require
public service employers to develop a ‘healthy
workplace’ policy to promote the physical, mental and
social wellbeing of employees. Employers and employees
will be able to decide for themselves what initiatives to
pursue. We believe that An Garda Síochána should not
wait for legislation and should prioritise the development
of such a policy in collaboration with representative
associations.
“Trends and Patterns in Occupational Health and Safety
in Ireland” was a major study undertaken by a research
steering group comprising the Economic and Social
Research Institute and Health and Safety Authority
published in May 2015. Among its findings are that- “the
38th Annual Delegate Conference
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