Frontline gardaí strength drops to six-year low

Garda numbers are expected to rise this month, with the early attestation of 151 new recruits

Retirements and resignations are continuing to frustrate attempts to grow garda numbers, against the background of concerns at the lack of garda visibility and eruptions of violence and disorder on the streets of Dublin in late November. File picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

The number of frontline gardaí reached their lowest level in six years last month, official figures show.

It followed a temporary increase in rank-and-file gardaí in October following the attestation of 126 new gardaí that month from Templemore Garda College.