So, the Gardai want to talk to you? First and foremost call us: ​083 080 6056

​Important information about Garda station attendances  

Depending on whether a person is attending voluntarily to give a statement, or has been arrested and brought to a Garda station and is in custody for questioning, their experience in a Garda station will vary.

If someone has been arrested

If you have been, or are being, taken into custody and detained for the purpose of questioning, it is enormously stressful and the detainee will, naturally, be out of sorts. When arrested, you are required to comply with various demands, such as the taking of photographs and DNA/forensic samples, by Gardai.  If you, or someone you know, has been arrested or is being detained, under no circumstances should the detained person speak to Gardai or give them any statement, without first getting expert legal advice and secondly having the solicitor of  their choice present during the questioning.

A detained person is entitled to have the solicitor of their choice present, at all times, during their interview at a Garda station.

IMPORTANT: If detained, you should immediately tell Gardai to call your solicitor, if you want Phelim O'Neill Solicitors to attend with you, ask the Gardai to call us on our 24/7 mobile number: (083) 080 6056. You do not have to take the solicitor offered to you by Gardai and you do not have to answer any questions the Gardai might ask you, while you are waiting for your solicitor to arrive.

When your solicitor arrives at the Garda station the following normally happens:

1.     They will have a consultation with you in private.
2.     Your chosen solicitor will advise you on your rights in the Garda station.
3.     They will also offer you legal advice  and support during the interview.  

You can also have telephone access with your solicitor throughout your detention.  You may also qualify for legal aid while you're detained in a Garda station.

Under the Garda Station Legal Advice Revised Scheme, free legal advice can be provided to those detained under certain legislation in Garda stations, provided they satisfy a means test.

The offences the scheme applies to are:

• Offences under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939 as amended
• Offences under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984
• Offences under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996
• Offences under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007

Phelim O'Neill Solicitors provide Garda interview services, 24 hours a day, covering all aspect of the criminal justice system.  Our expertly trained solicitors will attend at Garda stations  24 hours a day to represent you and provide you with the legal assistance to get you through the process and maximise your chances of avoiding prosecution.

Contact a member of our Garda station legal advice team with any questions, 24 hours a day on our Garda custody advice line, Mobile:  (083) 080 6056.

If you've been asked to attend a Garda station to give a voluntary statement

If you have been asked, by a member of An Garda Siochana, to attend at a Garda station to give a voluntary statement, you should absolutely not do so, until you have spoken with an expert solicitor with experience in the area of Garda station interviews.

Gardai very often make people feel comfortable and give them a false sense of security, to convince people, from whom they are seeking to extract information, that they are not a suspect and that they do not require a solicitor. They will say things like: "this is your opportunity to give your side of the story..." - "If you have done nothing wrong you've got nothing to worry about..." - "It probably won't go anywhere..." - "We just want to clear things up..." -"We don't make any decisions, we approach this with an open mind..."- and before you know it, you are sitting in a Garda station interview room, having answered dozens of seemingly innocent questions, and suddenly you are being asked, by a Garda, if you are responsible for a serious offence, such as rape, murder, drugs trafficking, assault etc...

What has happened is, Gardai have convinced you to make loads of seemingly "innocent" statements which corroborate a version of events put forward in a statement made by a complainant, claiming to be the victim of a crime. This is why, no matter how trivial Gardai make a situation seem, they are not looking to talk to you for no reason. You have very likely been linked to a serious offence, and are potentially a suspect - even if the Gardai tell you that you are not. 

For these reasons, among others, you absolutely must take expert legal advice from an experienced solicitor, before making any statement to Gardai, no matter how innocent it may seem, and regardless of your innocence. 

Questions about Garda station interviews (Police statements)

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