Garda numbers shrink
Third of stations see decline in staffing while 8% have no designated officers, new figures reveal
ALMOST one third of all Garda stations around the country recorded a decrease in their numbers last year, while 8% no longer have any designated officer assigned to them.
Updated figures on Garda staffing levels show there was a net reduction of 154 in frontline officers across the network of almost 570 stations last year – an overall decrease of approximately 1%.
This coincided with a record high of 169 resignations.
The figures reveal a total of 174 stations had fewer gardaí at the end of December compared to the start of 2023, while 95 recorded an increase in staffing levels.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that the total number of Garda stations without a permanent dedicated officer rose to 48 last year.
An analysis of the latest figures on staffing levels shows the Garda station in Leixlip, Co. Kildare, experienced the biggest absolute decrease in manpower levels last year with a reduction of 17 gardaí – down from 85 to 68.
Other stations that recorded a
Staff distribution an ‘operational matter’
sizable drop in numbers last year were Santry in Dublin (down 14); Kildare town (down 11); and Donnybrook in Dublin and Kilkenny (both down ten).
Other large towns with reduced Garda staffing levels included Ennis, Co. Clare; Drogheda, Co. Louth; Tralee, Co. Kerry; and Wexford. Large stations in cities, including Waterford, Roxboro Road in Limerick and Anglesea Street in Cork, also had drops.
In contrast, two of the largest Garda stations in Dublin city recorded a sizable increase in officer numbers due to a significant reassignment of frontline gardaí across the capital.
The number of gardaí based in Kevin Street rose by 40 to 200 during 2023, while there were 24 additional officers assigned to Store Street, bringing manpower in Dublin’s largest station to 283.
The country’s largest Garda station – Henry Street in Limerick – had its staffing level increased by 12 to 294 last year.
Other stations that recorded a net increase in staffing levels by ten or more gardaí during 2023 included Tallaght, Coolock. Ballymun and Raheny in Dublin.
Gardaí said the distribution of staff across stations around the country is ‘an operational matter determined by An Garda Síochána based on a range of factors including population, crime trends, area, operational strategies, and policing arrangements’. They also pointed out the distribution of resources is kept ‘under continual review’ by Garda management.
The analysis also reveals that only five of the 26 Garda divisions nationwide had more gardaí at the start of 2024 than they did 12 months earlier – Dublin North, Dublin North Central, Dublin South Central, Dublin West and Donegal – while numbers in Galway were unchanged. Some areas suffered significant reductions in staffing levels last year including Wicklow and Sligo/Leitrim (both down 5%), and Dublin East and Kilkenny/Carlow (both down 4%).
The figures also highlight that the number of small, mostly rural Garda stations without a dedicated officer recorded a net increase of six to 48 last year.
A total of 11 stations lost their permanent gardaí during 2023: Arles, Co. Laois; Ballintra, Co. Donegal; Bansha, Co. Tipperary; Bruree, Co. Limerick; Carrigart, Co. Donegal; Daingean, Co. Offaly; Durrus, Co. Cork; Elphin, Co. Roscommon; Eyrecourt, Co. Galway; Goresbridge, Co. Kilkenny; and Tarelton, Co. Cork.
Five stations which had no permanent garda were assigned a new dedicated officer last year – Ballymore, Co. Westmeath; Cloghan, Co. Offaly; Myshall, Co. Carlow; Rathcormack, Co. Cork; and Skreen, Co. Sligo.
Overall, the total size of the force recorded a net reduction of 88 last year to 13,792.
However, the actual strength of An Garda Síochána at the end of 2023, when gardaí on career breaks and other types of leave are excluded, fell by 135 to 13,998 – the lowest level since 2017 and more than 1,000 below the Government’s target of having a force of 15,000.
At the same time there was an increase in the number of civilian staff by 129 to 3,255, although Garda Reserve levels fell to a record low of 351 – a decrease of 26 on the previous year.
In December, the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, announced a new recruitment campaign for An Garda Síochána which closes on Thursday for applications.
Ms McEntee said An Garda Síochána had accelerated its recruitment of new trainees following the forced closure of the Garda College in Templemore, Co. Tipperary, to intakes due to the Covid-19 pandemic, including 746 recruits who entered training last year.
The minister claimed additional funding provided by the Government to An Garda Síochána in 2024 would result in the recruitment of between 800 and 1,000 new gardaí this year.
The last Garda recruitment campaign, which closed in April 2023, received approximately 5,000 applications.
Minister McEntee said she hoped and expected that there would be a strong response to the latest campaign due to changes in eligibility requirements, including the raising of the maximum age for new recruits from 35 to 50 as well as an increase in the training allowance for trainees to €305 per week.
Force recorded loss of 88 staff