Staffing levels in the Drugs Unit of the Clare Garda Division have fallen, despite a commitment to double its size.
There are now just three members of the force in the county’s drugs unit, with only one unit having a smaller amount of personnel focussed on the drugs trade.
New figures, released to the Dáil, show just three members of the Clare Garda Division’s Drugs Unit at the end of September.
Two are rank and file Gardaí, and the third is a Sergeant.
In 2017, there were five Gardaí in the Unit, and last year, its total number stood at four.
At that time, an announcement was made to state that it would double in size to eight.
Only the Kilkenny/Carlow Division has fewer Gardaí in its drugs unit, while Laois/Offaly and Louth are the only other Divisions with just three Garda personnel.
It has previously been argued that many more members of the force are tackling the issue of drugs, even if they’re not full-time drugs unit officers.
Earlier this month, Gardaí released statistics showing a 30% increase in Clare in the number of detections of drugs for sale or supply.
