You should only dial 112 or 999 in urgent, genuine cases of emergency where someone’s life, health, property or the environment is in danger, or if there is any reason to assume this to be the case.

Making an emergency call can be associated with stressful situations and as a result it can be difficult to get your message across. Try not to immediately get into the details of the help required and remember that you first need to get connected by the Emergency Operator to the correct Emergency Service. Further tips on making an emergency call are available here.

You should not dial 112 or 999 in non-urgent matters or just to make enquiries.

Making unnecessary 112 or 999 calls can endanger the lives of others as precious time is being wasted dealing with these calls whilst other callers are trying to get through.

Remember that making deliberate hoax/false calls is a serious offence which could lead to further action being taken by An Garda Síochána. The Emergency Service resources which deal with real emergencies are limited and they can often be wasted by unscrupulous citizens making hoax or malicious calls.

The consequences of these hoax calls can be catastrophic for people in genuine need of assistance.

When reporting a crime which is not an emergency, please contact your local Garda Station. You can find contact details for your local Garda Station via the normal directory enquiry services.

Contact details for your local Garda Station should be readily to hand in both your home and place of work, and on speed dial on your home and mobile phones.

Anyone with information regarding a crime can also ring the Garda Confidential Telephone Number on 1800 666 111.

An Garda Síochána need the support and cooperation of everyone in the community to prevent and detect crime. Visit the Garda website for information on crime prevention to improve your own security, and reduce the fear of crime and the risk of it occurring.