Mental health supports on the beat

Gardaí in Monaghan and Cavan responding to crisis situations could in the future have a medical professional on hand to assess the mental health of persons who come to their attention.

The hope was expressed at last week’s meeting of the County Monaghan Local Community Safety Partnership that a pilot programme recently concluded in Limerick could be implemented in the county in the future.

The Community Access Support Team (CAST) pilot was launched in January 2025 and saw uniformed gardaí working alongside clinical mental health nurses and social care specialists to respond to crisis incidents and determine whether mental health care rather than garda detention or Emergency Department presentation was the most appropriate response. An independent assessment of the project has recommended its implementation nationwide.

At the LCSP meeting, Chairperson Cllr Alan Johnston (FG) said that the availability of such experts to gardaí would be invaluable as many calls gardaí receive have mental health issues in the background. Referring to the Limerick pilot, he said the LCSP is looking into how this programme can be accessed in County Monaghan.

Superintendent Pat O’Connell said he had spoken to Garda Chief Superintendent Alan McGovern in relation to rolling it out from a Cavan/Monaghan perspective.

“At this point in time it is maybe for us to get the full recommendations and findings from the pilot and see if we can develop a recommendation at local level,” stated Supt O’Connell. “I can see us moving into this space in time.”

The chairperson said the approach should improve the clinical outcomes for the individuals concerned.

Supt O’Connell said the initiative offers medical expertise to the Gardaí to provide advice, assistance and assessment.

The super said the Gardaí in County Monaghan have responded to eight cases of apparent suicide in the year to date.

“We do need to have a conversation around suicide and the supports in place for people,” he stated.

“Within this room there will be people either directly affected, or who have a family member affected, by mental health issues.”

Supt O’Connell said these are very difficult incidents for Gardaí to attend and this is sometimes overlooked.

“When people say Garda visibility is not as it should be,” he continued, “you need to look at the range of issues we respond to and the time that they take, which can prevent Gardaí from being on patrol.”

Cllr Noel Keelan (SF) said that Garda, Ambulance Service and Fire Service personnel are very often required to attend at very tragic events in the community and he agreed the impact often goes unrecognised.