'It’s alarming' - No garda drugs unit in rural Limerick, serving garda claims

David Raleigh

A Limerick Garda issued an “alarming” warning that garda drugs unit personnel in Co Limerick have been completely depleted.

Despite the crisis of garda resources, Garda Headquarters said drug detection across the Limerick Garda Division increased by nine per cent on last year.

Limerick Garda and former president of the Garda Representative Association (GRA), Frank Thornton, issued the stark warning that “there is no Divisional Drugs Unit out the county”.

Garda Thornton said that “resourcing in An Garda Síochána remains critical” and that “recruitment intakes are not matching the retirement and resignation numbers”.

“Locally, this is evident with the depleting resources in the Limerick Division, who have a net loss so far (on) 2025 in personnel. The Divisional Drugs Unit has not escaped unscathed with the unit strength depleted over the past number of years,” Garda Thornton said.

Garda Thornton said Garda members attached to the Divisional Drugs Unit, based in Limerick City, “are covering a vast area with minimal resourcing, which is alarming” due to the depletion of resources rurally.

“There is no end in sight presently to the chronic personnel shortage, and any additional resources would come from an already threadbare front line service,” he further warned.

It comes in the wake of comments by Willie O’Dea, Fianna Fáil TD, who, last month in the Dáil, revealed a 12-month delay in the Office of Public Works identifying a site for a garda station in Castletroy to help police the area - one of Limerick City’s biggest suburbs - which Mr O’Dea claimed has been “subjected to a tsunami of crime”.

Mr O’Dea said he expected 20 new Garda recruits to be deployed to Limerick soon; however, Garda sources said these recruits would not immediately mitigate the decline in garda numbers in the county’s rural drug personnel.

Fine Gael councillor, Adam Teskey, an outgoing chairperson of the Limerick City and County Joint Policing Committee, branded the lack of drugs squad officers in the county as “bizarre”.

Cllr Teskey warned drug dealing and drug abuse have flourished as a direct result, and said the drugs “scourge” in County Limerick was “an absolute pandemic of a problem that is escalating and escalating”.

A statement provided by the Garda Press Office said Limerick has a Divisional Drug Unit, but stated that, “for operational reasons, An Garda Síochána does not comment on current or future deployment of resources”.

“It should also be noted that detections in possession of drugs for sale or supply has increased by 9% year to date.”

The garda statement said the Limerick City and County is policed by 609 Garda members of all ranks, including some, it said, who have “extensive experience in tackling organised crime and disrupted and dismantled many gangs now and in the past”. Garda sources said a wave of experienced officers who helped to break up gangs in Limerick between the late 90s and mid-2000s have retired.

The official Garda response added that managing the deployment of resources across 560 garda stations nationally is “a complex process” and that these resources are kept “under constant review”.

“An Garda Síochána, as a family-friendly organisation, also has responsibilities for supporting individual employees’ circumstances and statutory work-life balance policies,” it said.

“In emergency situations, or urgent Garda assistance is required, the public should always contact 999/112,” the statement added.