Garda Taser Pilot to Be Extended and Expanded

An Garda Síochána is to extend its taser pilot by six months, until the end of 2026, and will expand the scheme to the Limerick Division in the coming months.

The pilot was launched in December 2025 in four locations: Store Street, Pearse Street and Kevin Street in Dublin, along with Waterford. A total of 167 Gardaí successfully completed their training and were provided with tasers.

Under Garda policy, only Gardaí equipped with body-cams may carry tasers, and each of the pilot locations has Gardaí using body-cams. The Limerick Division is itself a pilot location for body-cams.

Since December 2025, tasers have been used 15 times and have proven successful at de-escalating volatile and violent incidents, according to An Garda Síochána. In six of these 15 incidents, a weapon was produced by the subject.

Of the 15 uses, there were three discharges, five instances of drawing and arming, and seven in which the subject had the taser's laser pointed at them (laser painted) by Gardaí. There were no serious injuries to either subjects or Gardaí across the 15 incidents.

In seven of the cases, the subject was arrested and subsequently charged. In one case, the subject fled and was not apprehended. In three cases, the person was detained and assessed under Section 12 of the Mental Health Act 2001, while one further subject was brought to hospital for an issue not related to the use of Garda force.

All three discharges were referred to the police ombudsman, Fiosrú, in line with Garda policy.

Paul Cleary, Deputy Commissioner, Security, Strategy and Governance:

"As we said at the launch of the pilot, one of the key measures of success during this pilot is to de-escalate and to avoid harm, not the number of times a device is discharged. In fact, harm to the person arrested has also likely been avoided as the drawing, aiming and laser painting has meant that other uses of force such as baton did not need to be used.

The taser pilot has demonstrated the effectiveness of the taser as a de-escalation tool. The presence and controlled use of the device in the pilot areas has enabled Gardaí to resolve volatile situations calmly and often without having to resorting [sic] to discharge of the taser.

It has also been welcomed by Gardaí and local Garda management as providing additional protection to our personnel who have to deal with a wide variety of potentially violent situations on a daily basis.

We will now extend the pilot to Limerick as this will enable us to provide Gardaí there with another valuable tool along with their body-cams. It will also help us to capture more data on taser usage which is required to fully inform the final decision by Garda management on taser deployment more widely across the country."

All Gardaí carrying tasers have completed a comprehensive three-day Taser Training Course grounded in the principles of the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.

An Garda Síochána said the deployment of tasers will be fully Human Rights compliant and will be the subject of rigorous evaluation before any decision on a wider roll-out of tasers within the force.

The taser pilot has been discussed with Garda oversight bodies, including the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, the Policing and Community Safety Authority, and the Strategic Human Rights Advisory Committee for An Garda Síochána.

An Garda Síochána also provided two examples of the taser being used to de-escalate volatile situations.

In the first, An Garda Síochána received a report of a domestic violence incident at a residential address. Regular uniform Gardaí immediately responded and arrived at the scene. They met the female victim, who reported that she and her son had been assaulted by a former male partner, resulting in bite marks on the forearms of both the victim and her son. The injuries were observed by Gardaí, and another child was also present during the incident.

On approaching the suspect inside the house, he became extremely aggressive towards Gardaí. One of the Gardaí drew their taser from the holster, and the visible presence of the device resulted in the suspect reassessing their behaviour. The situation de-escalated without physical force, injury, or further escalation. The suspect was arrested, detained and subsequently charged, and the case remains before the courts.

In the second, An Garda Síochána received a report of an aggressive male at an address, and Gardaí immediately responded and arrived at the scene. On arrival, Gardaí entered the address and the male became extremely aggressive towards the Gardaí.

He made threats towards Gardaí while holding a glass bottle in an aggressive manner. Following unsuccessful attempts to de-escalate using verbal reasoning, Gardaí drew their tasers to protect themselves. The subject was then detained under the Mental Health Act.