New figures from an Garda Síochána have revealed the counties with the worst Garda staffing levels.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee’s home county of Meath has the fewest Gardaí per capita of any policing region in the country.
According to the analysis of nationwide staffing levels Meath has just 142 Gardaí for every 100,000 people, or one front line officer for every 703 people.
The Longford/ Mayo/ Roscommon division shows to have 604 Gardaí, with the figures equating to one Garda for every 422 people in the region.
There are under half the number of Gardaí in the Sligo/ Leitrim region in comparison, but with a lower population they are more covered by Garda numbers with one Garda for every 371 people.
In comparison, Galway has just more than the Longford/ Mayo/ Roscommon division with 610.
There is a Garda for every 455 people in the county of Galway as a result.
When looking at the rest of the country, the Galway and Longford/ Mayo/ Roscommon division sit in the middle ground of Garda cover which is between 400-500 people per Garda.
Sligo/ Leitrim is in a more favourable bracket along with divisions like Dublin, Limerick and Donegal in the 300-400 level.
County Waterford fares best overall, with a Garda for every 338 people across the county.
These figures are displayed in a map in this weekend’s Irish Independent.
