400 fewer Garda vehicles on roads since ’09

There were more than 400 fewer Garda vehicles on the country’s roads at the start of this year than in 2009, despite the purchase of more than 400 vehicles last year.

The Department of Justice has confirmed that on January 31, there were 2,390 Garda vehicles in service, 2,054 of which were patrol car/vans. That compared to a total of 2,737 vehicles on the same date in 2011 and 2,814 in 2009.

The dip comes following a year in which road deaths increased by 28 — the first increase in eight years.