There has been a 10% decrease in the number of Gardai serving in Carlow and Kilkenny over the past four years.
Latest figures show 312 gardai in the region, compared with 350 in 2021.
Speaking on the Saturday Show with Edward Hayden, Carlow Kilkenny TD Peter “Chap” Cleere made reference to a recent recruitment campaign carried out by the force.
He said new recruits can’t just be sent to the bigger cities.
“We have 312 guards in Carlow and Kilkenny, we had 350 four years ago, so we’ve about 10% less guards than we had in the counties four years ago, but to be fair to the Justice Minister, he recognises that there’s an issue here, and we did go out and recruit heavily, and we have got 6,500 applications.”
The recent Garda recruitment drive was completed in February, and featured a revised fitness test, amongst other measures, to encourage applications.
He continued by stating that “When those people come in situ, they shouldn’t all just be stationed in Dublin City or Cork City, they need to be spread geographically around the country. We need to make sure that in Carlow and Kilkenny, we get guards on the beat and visible, that’s really really important.”
“When you see a guard walking down the street in Graiguenemanagh, or Thomastown, or Mullinavat, people feel safe.”
