There are 20% fewer Gardaí currently assigned to the Divisional Drugs Unit in Kerry than there were two years ago.
That’s according to figures released by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.
As of the end of April this year, there were 12 Gardaí assigned to the Divisional Drugs Unit in Kerry.
There were also 12 members assigned to the unit in this county as of the end of December last year.
That’s a drop of 20% when compared to the previous year; there were 15 Gardaí assigned to the Kerry Divisional Drugs Unit at the end of 2022 and there were also 15 in the unit at the end of December 2021.
However, this year’s figure represents an increase of 20% when compared to December of 2020 when there were ten members assigned to the unit in Kerry.
At the end of 2019, there were 11 Gardaí assigned to the drugs unit in Kerry.
The figures were sought by Sinn Féin TD John Brady recently.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee provided the figures and she stated she’s committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs to ensure communities around Ireland are safe and feel safe.
These figures show that nationally, there were 336 Gardaí assigned to Divisional Drug Units around the country as of the end of April this year.