Drop in drug searches linked to 'less gardaí on the streets'
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) said the reduction was clearly linked to their being 'less gardaí on the streets'.
Drug searches dropped 15% for the entire country, but by as much as 43% in Clare/Tipperary and 34% in Cork City.
The GRA said it as a matter of 'extreme concern', and warned that almost 1,900 members are eligible to take up retirement in the coming three years.
The Government has pledged to recruit 5,000 gardaí over five years, with the target of reaching a force of 15,000.
Garda strength stood at 14,198 at the end of May, and a further 120 attested from the Garda College in June.
Figures supplied by justice minister Jim O'Callaghan to the Dáil show there was a total of 40,642 searches under the Misuse of Drugs Acts, covering suspected possession and supply, in 2024. This compared to 47,780 in 2022, a reduction of 15%.
Of the four garda regions, the biggest drops were in the southern region (-30%) and the eastern region (-20%). They contrast with the Dublin region (-8%) and the north-western region (-4%).
A breakdown in the southern region shows:
A 43% reduction in Clare/Tipperary (2,726 in 2022 to 1,546 in 2024);
A 34% drop in Cork City (3,279 to 2,157);
A 29% fall in Cork county (2,218 to 1,515);
A 17% reduction in Limerick (2,201 to 1,825);
An 8% fall in Kerry (778 to 713).
Five of the six Dublin divisions saw a drop in searches (41% in Dublin East), but there was an 18% increase in searches in Dublin North Central.
This could reflect the transfer of gardaí from elsewhere in Dublin to the north inner city in response to outcries about the level of drug dealing and open use and the impact on people living in nearby communities, as well as workers and tourists.
The Louth/Cavan/Monaghan Division saw a significant reduction (-41%) in drug searches.
'Extreme concern'
GRA general secretary Ronan Slevin said: "A reduction in drug searches by 15% points clearly at the fact that there are simply less gardaí on the streets to carry out such searches, and this is a matter of extreme concern for the association."
He said this was a symptom of the wider pressure on frontline gardaí in recent years.
Official figures show that the garda strength stood at 14,283 in August 2022 and, despite recruitment, has remained largely unchanged.
"We have waved red flags every year that this Government has promised an extra 1,000 gardaí with the target of reaching 15,000 members by the end of this year and up to 18,000 by 2028,' Mr Slevin said.
The truth is that garda numbers have hardly moved one jot in the last seven years, despite a booming population and an unprecedented budget allocation to policing
He was concerned at the separate figures released by Mr O'Callaghan, which show the sharp increase in garda numbers eligible to retire in the coming years: 888 in 2025, rising to 1,108 by 2026, to 1,466 by 2027, with a cumulative total of 1,878 by 2028.
The minister pointed out that the numbers reflect those eligible to retire, but it does not mean they will retire.
Divisions set to be hardest hit include Clare/Tipperary (42 in 2005 and 96 by 2028), Cork City (39 and 101), Cork county (45 and 113), Kerry (16 and 47), Limerick (29 and 61), and Waterford/Kilkenny (35 and 78).
Mr Slevin said: "The fact that almost 1,900 gardaí are eligible to take up retirement over the next three years means that the number of 15,000+ gardaí is now just a pipedream, a number plucked from obscurity.
"The GRA has presented a plan which we believe will boost garda numbers and make the job a more attractive one to potential recruits but we have been met with a wall of silence and indifference.
' With the imminent appointment of a new [Garda] Commissioner, it is imperative that he/she addresses the serious issue of morale within An Garda Síochána and the culture of excessive use of discipline and suspension.'
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