The number of gardaí assigned to Roads Policing Units in Ireland has fallen by almost 40% since 2009, according to new figures released by the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána, raising renewed concerns over enforcement capacity on the country’s road network.
Data provided in response to parliamentary questions from Fine Gael TDs Michael Murphy and Emer Currie shows that specialist roads policing personnel have dropped from 1,046 in 2009 to 645 in March this year, a decline of 401 officers.
The reduction has been particularly pronounced in Dublin, where the number of gardaí in roads policing roles has decreased by 45%, representing 130 fewer officers over the period. In DMR South Central, the fall is even sharper at 59%, leaving just 11 personnel assigned to the division, which currently operates with only two dedicated roads policing vehicles.
Other regions have also seen substantial declines. Sligo/Leitrim recorded a drop from 34 specialist gardaí in 2009 to 14 this year, while similar reductions have been reported across multiple rural divisions. Limerick stands out as the only county to show a marginal increase, with one additional officer compared with 2009.
The figures have prompted strong criticism from road safety campaigners. PARC, an organisation representing families bereaved in fatal traffic collisions, described the trend as “heartbreaking.” Founder Susan Gray said previous commitments to strengthen roads policing had not been met, referencing comments made by former Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to an Oireachtas committee two years ago.
“They haven’t got the resources they need to make the roads safer. We need them and they are being depleted,” she said.
An Garda Síochána has responded by emphasising that road safety enforcement is not confined to specialist units. The force stated that all gardaí, including those outside Roads Policing Units, regularly enforce traffic laws. It noted that in the past year, non-specialist personnel accounted for more than 60% of DUI detections, 65% of vehicle detentions, and 80% of checkpoint operations.
The organisation also rejected claims of an internal policy aimed at reducing roads policing numbers, saying that additional personnel have been assigned in recent recruitment cycles. It added that over 80 new members have been allocated to roads policing roles in the past 18 months, which it described as the largest allocation to any specialist unit during that period.
Despite this, Deputy Garda Commissioner Shawna Coxon told an Oireachtas Committee on Transport last October that the force had not achieved the “significant uplift” in roads policing staffing that had been anticipated, pointing to competing operational demands across the organisation.
