Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2026
597. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of people involved in relaying 999 calls, between receipt of the call and the allocation of a Garda to respond; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31815/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhen a member of the public dials 999 they are initially answered by a call operator from ECAS, the Emergency Call Answering Service. The ECAS operator will then put them through to their chosen emergency service, i.e. Gardaí/ambulance/fire brigade/coast guard.
Should the caller request Gardaí, they will be put through to one of four Garda Regional Control Rooms where a call taker will answer the call, obtain necessary details and create an incident.
A dispatcher will then allocate and dispatch a Garda resource to respond to the call.
Therefore, three people are involved in relaying 999 calls, between receipt of the call and the allocation of a Garda to respond.
Calls for service, whether received through a local Garda station or the 999 Emergency Call Answering Service (ECAS), are routed through the Regional Control Rooms and prioritised for response. Higher priority calls will always take priority over lower priority calls.
The Garda authorities inform me that An Garda Síochána aim is to answer 80% of 999 calls within 7 seconds and deploy resources immediately giving an estimated time of arrival. An Garda Síochána will take appropriate steps to deal with all incidents and ensure that emergency and life threatening calls receive priority. They will endeavour to get to callers within 15 minutes in urban locations and as soon as possible, given the distance to be travelled, in more rural areas.
