Cork city's Anglesea St station lost one garda every fortnight last year

Cork city’s main garda station lost on average one garda every fortnight last year, a local TD has said.

In the 12 months since December 2023, the Cork city garda divisional headquarters on Anglesea St lost 26 gardaí, an average of one per fortnight, due to a combination of resignations and retirements, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central said.

Citing figures released to Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy, Mr Ó Laoghaire said the decline in numbers over 12 months was a source of concern.

According to the garda figures given to Mr Carthy, there were 273 gardaí based in Anglesea St in December 2023, with 218 officers of garda rank, 38 sergeants, 12 inspectors, three superintendents, one chief superintendent, and one assistant commissioner.

In December 2024, that number had reduced to 247, with 195 officers of garda rank, 36 sergeants, 11 inspectors, three superintendents, one chief superintendent, and one assistant commissioner.

Mr Ó Laoghaire said the disparity between Dublin and Cork in allocations of garda recruits was compounding the issue of retention.

“The small numbers coming to the Cork City division from Templemore from each cohort has been a source of significant contention in Cork for a considerable number of years,” he said.

“On some occasions it has been as little as one, on others two or three and sometimes it has been none. On one recent occasion there was an increase comprising 11 individuals, as against the 96 who went to the Dublin division.” He noted that in December 2023, 115 gardaí had been allocated to Dublin while only one came to the Cork city division.

“I am aware Cork city is smaller than Dublin city but it is not 115 times smaller than Dublin city by any manner or means,” Mr Ó Laoghaire said.

Last week, The Echo reported that, according to the Garda Representative Association (GRA), staff shortages meant that as many as 50 gardaí in Cork city were unable to advance to promotions they had earned as there was no-one to replace them on the frontline.

Last month, garda units covering Douglas and Carrigaline, and Bishopstown and Ballincollig, were amalgamated.

Mr Ó Laoghaire said garda resources in the Cork city division were “getting thinner and thinner”, adding: “There is no miracle of the loaves and fishes here.

“If there are fewer units, four units are reduced to two, with one unit covering an area with 50,000 or 60,000 people, which is effectively the size of a small county, at night, that is not good enough,” he added.

“I would be concerned that there are going to be situations where gardaí will not be able to respond to two serious incidents that happen within their unit area, which is effectively two station areas, at the same time. That is the concern that people have.” A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána said numbers attached to specific units change due to operational demands the personal circumstances of officers, and other variables.

“This often includes the re-arrangement or re-assignment of garda resources, including transfers, both in and out of a garda divisions, and allocations,” they said.

They added that there were currently 14,295 sworn of An Garda Síochána, with almost 500 recruits in training at the Garda College, while almost 6,800 have applied to this year.