2024 GSOC Annual Report has been published today
1 October 2025
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) 2024 Annual Report was published today. The report documents the high volume and complexity of allegations dealt with by GSOC during 2024. GSOC was succeeded by Fiosrú – Oifig an Ombudsman Póilíneachta (Office of the Police Ombudsman) on 2 April 2025.
2024 GSOC Annual Report has been published today
The Annual Report presents an overview of GSOC’s work in 2024, including statistics on the number of complaints received, the number of investigations undertaken and the outcomes reached. The report also provides a detailed set of cases studies and details of systematic recommendations made to An Garda Síochána. The report stresses the importance of safeguarding independence and ensuring adequate resourcing, while also looking ahead to GSOC’s transition to an expanded and transformed police oversight body under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act, 2024.
1 October 2025
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) 2024 Annual Report has been published on 1 October 2025. The report documents the high volume and complexity of allegations dealt with by the policing oversight body in 2024.
The Annual Report presents an overview of GSOC’s work in the period, including statistics on the number of complaints received, the number of investigations undertaken and outcomes reached. GSOC received a total of 2,226 complaints from the public in 2024 and opened 37 investigations on referral by An Garda Síochána following incidents involving death or serious harm. The year also saw 67 files forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions arising from GSOC investigations.
The report provides enhanced detail and information about its work, with the inclusion of 15 case studies providing a snapshot of the range of ways in which complaints and referrals were received, progressed, investigated and resolved. The report details many of the activities GSOC undertook in 2024 to prepare for the transition to its successor agency Fiosrú – Oifig an Ombudsman Póilíneachta, the Office of the Police Ombudsman, on 2 April 2025.
A further final report will be published in due course which will cover GSOC’s activities during the period 1 January 2025 to 1 April 2025.
About GSOC
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) was an independent statutory agency set up in 2007 under the Garda Síochána Act, 2005. Its function was to deal with complaints of misconduct by members of An Garda Síochána in an efficient, effective and fair manner.
The Ombudsman Commission consisted of three members:
- Justice Rory MacCabe, Chairperson, appointed January 2022.
- Emily Logan, appointed February 2021.
- Hugh Hume, appointed February 2021 / resigned in June 2024.
Under Section 80 of the Act, GSOC was required to furnish an annual report to the Minister for Justice. The 2024 Annual Report was approved by the Minister on 1 October 2025 and has been published.
The Policing, Security and Community Safety Act, 2024 (PSCS Act) was signed into law by the President on 7 February 2024,and commenced on 2 April 2025. On commencement, GSOC was succeeded by Fiosrú – Oifig an Ombudsman Póilíneachta, Office of the Police Ombudsman. Fiosrú has a new leadership structure with a Police Ombudsman, a Deputy Ombudsman and a Chief Executive Officer replacing GSOC’s three Commissioner model.
Emily Logan was appointed as the first Police Ombudsman on commencement of the PSCS Act, 2024. The commencement of the PSCS Act, 2024 also sees a significant expansion in the organisation’s remit.
Key facts and figures from the 2024 GSOC Annual Report
2024 in numbers
- 2,226 complaints received, containing 2,883 allegations.
- 58% of complaints ruled admissible.
- 37 referrals from the Garda Síochána of matters where it appeared ‘the conduct of a member of the Garda Síochána may have resulted in the death of or serious harm to a person’. 21 of these related to fatalities.
- 11 public interest investigations opened (these are investigations undertaken in the absence of a complaint or referral from the Garda Commissioner). 26 were closed.
- 88 sanctions imposed by the Garda Commissioner following complaints.
- 67 files referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
- 31 protected disclosures received.
Case studies and Systemic Recommendations in the 2024 Annual Report
The Annual Report includes a range of case studies arising from its investigative work in 2024, as well as itemising the various recommendations made to An Garda Síochána, where issues of a systemic nature were uncovered in the course of GSOC’s investigations. Case studies from GSOC’s Local Intervention initiative are also provided.
Case studies include examples of:
- Disciplinary breaches, including failure to investigate a road traffic collision; neglect of duty in handling evidence; failure to respond to public complaints;
- Referrals under Section 102, including deaths occurring during or following Garda custody or transport;
- The satisfactory resolution of service-level complaints via GSOC’s local intervention initiative, in cooperation with designated Garda inspectors.
Systemic recommendations to the Garda Commissioner on Garda policy and practice included recommendations relating to:
- Treatment in custody;
- Custody Management and record keeping;
- The use of restraint;
- The conduct of personal searches;
- Managed containment of vehicles;
- Storage and record keeping in relation to firearms at Garda Stations.
Notable Events
- In March 2024, GSOC hosted a meeting to discuss cross border policing oversight arrangements with members of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (OPONI).
- GSOC held a day dedicated to the development of our Family Liaison Officers (FLO).
- GSOC attended the Association for Criminal Justice Research & Development (ACJRD) conference on the June 12 2024.
- Emily Logan, Police Ombudsman designate, spoke at Dublin City University (DCU) Conference in September and at the Independent Police Complaints Authority Network (IPCAN) Seminar in November 2024.
GSOC’s Statement of Strategy 2021–2023 outlined the Commission’s strategic vision and laid the groundwork for the transition to Fiosrú, the new Office of the Police Ombudsman, established under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024. The Act was enacted in February 2024 and commenced on 2 April 2025. The text of the Act is available at www.irishstatutebook.ie
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