Garda reforms to include cybercrime units and hotline to report child sex abuse

New cybercrime units, local teams to combat domestic violence and sexual assault, and a hotline to report child sex abuse are among a raft of reforms unveiled yesterday by the Garda Commissioner.

However, Nóirín O’Sullivan’s five-year modernisation and renewal programme hit trouble on the day of its launch, with a rejection by a Garda staff association to implement the plan due to a pay dispute.

The programme is in response to a series of critical external reports, particularly two mammoth investigations by the Garda Inspectorate in 2014 and 2015.