Former Labour leader Pat Rabbitte today claimed that the allocation of gardaí to stations around the State "would appear to defy logic".
In a statement, Mr Rabbitte said figures assembled by Labour found there are 2.72 members of An Garda Síochána per 1,000 people across the State but that there are "massive variations" from one division to another and from one station to another
"At a national level there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to where gardaí are allocated and areas that are known to have higher crime levels, or more complex policing requirements, have lower Garda numbers," he said.
"It is not possible to post a Garda at every cross-road, but the fact is that the very areas that require most policing are the areas where Gardaí are least visible."
Mr Rabbitte said the Tallaght area had been given a "paltry allocation", with as few as 1.96 gardaí per 1,000 people, while Limerick City has almost four gardaí per 1,000. If Tallaght were to have comparable cover, it would need at least 100 more gardaí, he claimed.
Mr Rabbitte continued: "Unfortunately community policing . . . is a cosmetic facade as far as the current Justice Minister Dermot Ahern and his Government is concerned, a view that, very worryingly, senior gardaí appear to share."
The former Labour leader added that he would be writing to the Garda Commissioner to ask him to explain the basis for these allocations.
