Observer The Kilkenny It’s not a fair cop

Figures disclosing Garda staing levels across the country show that the Kilkenny/ Carlow district has the third fewest Gardaí per capita in the country.

According to the gures, there are currently 190 o cers per 100,000 people across the two counties.

Meath came out on top with the worst sta ng levels with just 142 Gardaí per 100,000. is was followed by Kildare with 171 per 100,000 people. e analysis found a major di erence in the number of o cers provided to di erent areas of the country.

For example, Meath has only one guarda for every 703 people, compared to one garda for every 392 people in Dublin.

Garda numbers have continued to decline as many recruit candidates o ered places in the Gardaí College have not taken them up.

At the same time, resignations from an Gardai are continuing to increase at a signi cant rate, while age-related retirements also are look set to be higher for this current year. e Government and Garda headquarters had initially planned for ve intakes, or classes, of 200 recruits to enter the Garda Síochána College, Templemore, Co Tipperary, this year. However, the rst intake in February numbered 135 recruits while the second, in May, involved 154.

Sources said classes have been smaller than the hopedfor 200 as some candidates who successfully applied for to join the force have deferred taking up their place or changed their minds about a career in policing.

In other cases, if recruits spent some time living abroad, their records in those coun-

All fuelled up for Kilkenny

Cannonball, the action-packed supercar spectacle, is set to roll in on September 15 to 17 with proceeds to e Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation and will be having a big dramatic nish line in Kilkenny City on Sunday, September 17 at 6pm.

Cannonball, fuelled by milesPLUS from Circle K, is the largest organised road trip in Europe featuring the nest cars on the planet from the awe-inspiring power of Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren to the grace and elegance of Porsche, Aston Martin, and Maserati.

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