How many Gardaí currently serve Carlow? New figures reveal staffing gaps

Newly released data from An Garda Síochána has revealed large staffing gaps across the 26 counties with Carlow ranking near the bottom.

The data - which covers Garda numbers by division up to 31 July 2023 - reveals the fewest number of Gardaí per capita can be found in Co Meath, with just 163 officers for every 100,000 people. 

This is followed by Co Kildare, where 190 officers serve per 100,000 and Kilkenny/Carlow with 199 Gardaí per 100,000 people. 

The highest allocation can be found in Co Waterford, where the number of Gardaí per 100,000 is almost double the lowest figure in Co Meath (324 Gardaí per 100,000). 

Co Louth follows closely with 304 Gardaí per 100,000. 

The figures show that a total of 13,943 Gardaí were serving countrywide up to the end of July 2023, marking a total of 277 officers per 100,000 people, according to population figures of 5,033,000 million. 

Eight thousand two hundred and ninety three of these officers - both uniformed and detective - are situated in divisions outside the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR), while 3,773 serve across the DMR. 

According to Garda division figures for the period up to the end of June 2023, posted recently in the Independent, the latest numbers mark a boost of 51 Gardaí nationwide. 

Thirteen thousand eight hundred and ninety two Gardaí were reportedly employed up to June 2023, representing a national average of 270 officers for every 100,000 people. 

Garda numbers per 100,000 people up to July 2023 can be viewed by county below: 

Dublin (comprising eight divisions including DMR Office, East, North, North Central, South, South Central, DMR Roads Policing, and Western) - 271 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Cavan/Monaghan - 272 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Clare - 251 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Cork - 241 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Donegal - 275 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Galway - 236 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Kerry - 226 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Kildare - 190 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Kilkenny/Carlow - 199 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Laois/Offaly - 226 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Limerick - 298 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Louth - 304 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Mayo/Roscommon/Longford - 256 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Meath - 163 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Sligo/Leitrim - 291 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Tipperary - 237 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Waterford - 324 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Westmeath - 279 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Wexford - 223 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

Wicklow - 207 Gardaí per 100,000 people 

A new recruitment campaign for An Garda Síochána was announced by the interim Minister for Justice at the beginning of 2023 prior to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee's return. 

The campaign - which aimed to recruit 1,000 new Gardaí this year - opened for applications from interested parties in March 2023. 

Almost 5,000 applications were submitted, with chosen recruits beginning their training in Templemore on July 31 last month. 

Minister McEntee recently welcomed 87 new Garda members (18 women and 69 men) at a ceremony at the Garda College in Templemore at the end of July 2023. 

These members were reportedly recruited through the 2022 campaign.