The number of Gardaí working in roads policing in 2023 was at its lowest in six years.
Department of Justice data analysed by the advocacy group Parc and published in the Irish Times, shows there were 641 Gardaí assigned to roads policing at the end of November, 47 less than at the start of last year.
It comes after the worst year for road deaths in over a decade.
184 people were killed on Irish roads in 2023, eight of these across our locality – Carlow saw four lives lost locally, with a fifth in another county, having had no fatalities since 2020, while in Kilkenny there were also four such deaths last year compared to nine in 2022.
David Martin from the Road Safety Authority says nights and weekends, were the most dangerous times for drivers across the country.