The number of gardaí posted to the Garda Traffic Corps dropped by 5 per cent in the 18 months to May, new figures show.
There were 711 officers assigned to the traffic corps in May 2016 compared with 749 at the end of 2014, a decline of 38 gardaí.
The figures come amid growing concern over the rise in road deaths this year. The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has reported an 8 per cent increase in the deaths on Irish roads in the first half of 2016 compared with the same period last year.
Further concerns have been raised about road safety following a sequence of fatal crashes last week and over the bank holiday weekend.
Hit-and-run
In the latest road death in Co Kilkenny, a man in his 20s was killed in a suspected hit-and-run in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Gardaí said the crash happened on the westbound carriageway of the N24 Piltown bypass near Fiddown.
The driver who was killed was in collision with another vehicle at about 1am. Gardaí said the other driver failed to stop.
The RSA has repeatedly called for the Garda Traffic Corps to be strengthened in recent years in order to deter dangerous driving.
Its chairwoman Liz O’Donnell wants a more visible Garda presence on roads nationwide, and she has previously described the dwindling numbers of gardaí on traffic corps duties as “worrying”.
The decrease has been blamed on budget cuts imposed on An Garda Síochána during the austerity years.
‘Disappointing’
Reacting to the figures, Fianna Fáil’s Justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan said the declining strength of the traffic corps was “disappointing”.
“The Garda Traffic Corps have taken quite a hit over the past six years – there are 300 fewer now than there were at the end of 2010,” he said.
“It is disappointing that at a time when gardaí are now being actively recruited that the numbers in the traffic corps are continuing to drop.
“This apparent decrease in number also flies in the face of the recent Garda pledge to strengthen and redevelop the traffic corps,” he added.