Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the savage attack on two gardaí in Ballyfermot the other night. Over recent years, more than 400 gardaí, between trainee and qualified, have quit the force. Why is this? Why are there 300 fewer gardaí in the force now compared to two years ago? The Garda Representative Association president, Brendan O'Connor, was on LMFM yesterday. He spoke about a lack of resources, support from his peers, and a lack of support from the Minister for Justice. Why is this the case? In my county of Meath, we have one garda per 650 people, while other counties have one garda per 332. Why is the number in Meath double that of other counties? Why is this not being addressed?

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