Cancelled 999 calls: Officers couldn't make contact with domestic abuse callers

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris told the authority that there is “no way of ruling out” that physical harm may have been inflicted on callers who were never followed up on. File photo: Brian Lawless/PA

The Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has acknowledged that gardaí were unable to make contact with a number of people who called 999 alleging domestic abuse, and whose calls were cancelled.

Mr Harris, appearing before the Policing Authority to discuss an independent report into the cancellation of more than 3,000 domestic violence or sexual assault calls, said “we failed to provide a service”.