619 arrested in Cork for driving under influence this year

THERE have been 619 arrests for driving under the influence in Cork City and county this year, of which 300 were for drug driving.

The figures were released at a meeting of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC) in the city this week. The meeting was attended by gardaí, public representatives, and council executives.

At the meeting, Chief Superintendent Con Cadogan detailed figures relating to the period from January to October 2021 and from January to October 2020.

There were 240 incidents of driving while intoxicated in the city between January and October 2021. This is an increase of 18 from the same period in 2020, when there were 222 arrests for drink driving in Cork City.

In the Cork North division, there were 216 arrests this year, down from 249 in 2020.

In the Cork West division, there were 163 incidents of driving under the influence from January to October, compared with 168 for the same period last year.

Drugs

In relation to drug driving, there were 76 such incidents in Cork City this year, compared to 86 for the same period last year.

In Cork North, this figure was 120 in 2021, up 17, from 103, on last year.

In Cork West, there have been 104 arrests in 2021, an increase of 25 on the same period last year.

The meeting heard that there has also been a slight increase in cases of possession of drugs for sale or supply in Cork City this year.

Between January and October 2020, there were 256 people arrested for dealing.

For the same period in 2021, that increased to 260, up by four.

In Cork City, possession of drugs for personal use in 2020 saw 913 detections and, in 2021, there were 1,127, an increase of 214 detections.

In Cork North, there were 98 incidents of possession of drugs for sale or supply last year, from January to October 2020, and in 2021, there were 111, an increase of 13.