Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have a question for the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Charles Flanagan, as a result of the reply I received to a parliamentary question. There has been a dramatic reduction in the number of probationary gardaí assigned to County Tipperary. It is absolutely astonishing that, between 2015 and 2018, County Tipperary was allocated only 48 probationary gardaí out of a total of 2,146. Last year only eight gardaí were assigned to County Tipperary, a large rural county in which there are huge concerns about rural crime. I now hear talk about gardaí being picked to go to the Border. Are we to have the numbers of gardaí diminished again in rural areas? Such a measure would be totally unjustifiable. We need our fair share of Garda recruits and wish them well when they come.

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