A LOG OF contacts to the Garda emergency line shows that some callers experienced lengthy waits for a call taker to answer the phone in June, with one individual left on hold for more than 17 minutes on one occasion.
Figures showing the length of time before a 999 call was answered from the Garda’s Emergency Call Answering Service service, seen by The Journal, show how there were lengthy delays over a series of days in early June.
It comes after The Journal reported yesterday that more than 500 calls to Dublin’s Garda central control had not been responded to at one point on Tuesday evening, because there were not enough patrolling gardaí available to meet the demand.
A whistleblower has now provided information about another major issue with the 999 line – the delays in answering the emergency service from weeks ago.
This data covers dates between 1 June and 7 June, which show the how the system struggled with call takers unable to answer the phones.
Data showing the length of time it takes call takers to answer 999 emergency phone calls is retained regularly for quality assurance monitoring.
The whistleblower states that a sample given to us is just evidence that they have themselves, claiming that the problem is also spread across other weeks.
The log shows that the calls were spread across the day and night, with some in the early hours of the morning. The reason each call was made was not provided.
The statistics reveal:
A large number of the calls, in the data seen by The Journal, show that the members of the public were waiting for upwards of two minutes before a call taker spoke to them.
The 999 system is complex: when a caller dials 999 they are patched through to a call centre, where they are asked for the service they require and where they are located.
That call is then patched through to either Garda, Fire Brigade, Ambulance or Coast Guard.
If it is a policing call, the caller is patched through to a number of control room centres across the country which are staffed by civilians and gardaí.
In Dublin, callers are patched through to Command and Control in Dublin city centre, where a person then takes details. In an ideal scenario, that person then uses radio to contact a patrolling garda to respond.
A number of sources have told The Journal that there is now an added issue, because of a new system that has been introduced.
They say that if people ring the public office of their local Garda station, the call for assistance cannot be given out by the garda in the station; instead it must be sent to a control room for the caller’s details to be taken again.
Gardaí say the system is overwhelming the already limited levels of staffing that are present in control centres. It is understood that efforts are currently being made to recruit more staff.
A spokesman for the Policing Authority said that the agency was continuing to examine the cancelling of 999 call responses but did not address questions about the issue of wait times for call answering we put to them.
“The provision of an appropriate response to people who call the Garda Síochána in a time of need is a fundamental part of the performance of a policing service.
“This issue has been given the highest priority by the Authority since it began its engagement with the Garda Síochána on this matter in December 2020, as it gradually emerged that an appropriate service was not provided in some cases,” the statement said.
Statements have been requested from Comreg which monitors the 999 service and the Department of Justice.
In a lengthy and detailed response An Garda Síochána refused to comment directly on the information provided by the whistleblower said that a “control room environment is a very dynamic environment”.
“An Garda Síochána has set a high target for our internal response to emergency calls.
“In any Control room environment there will be occasions where this aim is not achievable, hence the 80% target. However An Garda Síochána accepts that the highlighted call answering delays are not acceptable and Garda Management are aware of such delays as part of ongoing internal controls,” the statement said.
The garda statement went on to say that in any 24 hour period The Dublin Regional Control Room will received in the region of 1,000 to 1,300 phone calls.
“In addition to directly answering, assessing and triaging 999 calls to the control room, call takers also have to respond and assess silent and hang-up calls, including making call backs, where due diligence has to be carried out to ensure the call is fully assessed and triaged,” it added.
The garda statement outlined that the organisation had introduce, in Dublin, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) in 1987, 35 years ago.
There are new versions of that system in operation in the North West, Southern and Eastern Region Control Rooms. ‘GardaSafe’ will be commenced in the Dublin Region Control Room at a date to be confirmed it said.
The garda statement went onto to say that the control room system has been in place for the pat 50 years in Dublin. They said it ensure that the most appropriate Garda resources are available to respond to calls for service from the public, including situations where a local resource is not immediately available.
“Higher priority calls will always take priority over lower priority calls,” the statement added.
The new system, CADII, will also incorporate the latest control room technology, including mapping, mobile computing, automatic vehicle and person location, and digital radio and telephone integration.
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