McDowell recruits some dubious statistics

IN a high-profile spat some months ago, Justice Minister Michael McDowell described Richard Bruton as “the Dr Goebbels of Irish politics” because of what he claimed was a deliberate attempt to massage garda deployment figures to suit his own agenda.

After his publicity stunt in Templemore recently, it seems the minister has taken several leaves out of Mr Bruton’s book in this regard.

Mr McDowell claimed that garda numbers now exceed 14,000 for the first time. If this is true, why did he tell the Dáil recently that “the personnel strength of An Garda Síochána increased to a record 12,762” on Friday, September 8, 2006?