Fewer gardaí in half of Cork city stations

Retirements offset national increase in numbers joining force.

Half of all garda stations in Cork city had fewer gardaí this summer than in 2014 before the lifting of an embargo on the hiring of new recruits.

Official figures published by the Department of Justice show eight of the city’s 16 garda stations recorded a reduction in staffing levels in the past four years, despite an overall increase in the size of the force in Cork, aided by the deployment of more than 50 newly qualified gardaí.