Specialist Garda negotiators have been called to at least 89 barricades and similar stand-offs this year, about half of which were directly related to mental health issues.
The National Negotiation Unit has a panel of trained gardaí across the country who try to begin a dialogue with the people involved in the stand-off and bring it to a safe conclusion.
In 2019, the unit was called 98 times, while in the first 11 months of 2020 they were needed 89 times.
This year, 41 instances were directly linked to mental health issues, often involving people threatening to take their own lives.
Another 41 calls are described as 'criminal'. Minister for Justice Helen McEntee says many of these would have had an underlying mental health issue that would have acted as a contributory factor.
Some other incidents this year involve kidnap or hostage attempts, a possible child abduction, and an incident involving a high-risk missing person.
