34% drop in Cork city drug searches ‘due to reduced garda resources’

The number of drug searches in Cork city has fallen 34% in two years, government figures show, but a Cork TD says the amount of available drugs is not decreasing, which suggests reduced Garda resources.

Data provided by Jim O’Callaghan, the justice minister, shows that Ireland’s southern region saw a 30% decrease in the amount of drug searches under Drugs Acts 1977/1984, the biggest reduction of any region in the country, with drops of 20% in the eastern region, 8% in the Dublin region, and 4% in the north-western region.

Nationally, there were 47,780 drug searches in 2022, 43,682 in 2023, and 40,642 last year, with only five Garda divisions seeing an increase in the amount of drug searches.

The figures, which include searches for both possession of drugs and possession for sale or supply, show that the decrease was 32% in County Cork, with drug searches falling from 5,479 to 3,672 between 2022 and 2024.

In Cork city, there were 3,279 searches in 2022, 2,072 in 2023, and 2,157 in 2024, a 34% decrease, while Cork county saw a 29% decrease, with 2,128 searches in 2022, 1,627 in 2023, and 1,515 last year.

Cork city saw the fourth-highest number of drug searches by region in 2022, but fell to sixth in 2023, when two Dublin regions overtook it.

Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, told The Echo that Cork needs more Garda resources, but Dublin has been getting priority, despite significant issues with drugs in Cork, too. Mr Ó Laoghaire said: “The fall in drug searches is a huge concern.

“It’s very clear that this is due to a lack of resources and not that there are any less drugs. In recent days, we’ve seen reports on a significant increase in the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine, and the number of cocaine debts in the last 20 years has skyrocketed.

“It’s clearly a huge challenge, even a growing challenge, on the streets, so the fact that searches have gone down is due to Garda resources, and we’ve been flagging this issue for some time,” Mr Ó Laoghaire said.

“The fact that the issue is greater in the Cork city division reflects the huge pressure on resources in this area, and highlights the need for a significant change in approach to the allocation of Garda resources to Cork.”

Mr Ó Laoghaire, who recently wrote to new Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly, requesting a meeting on Cork Garda resourcing, said: “Cork has not been getting its fair share of gardaí; we’ve seen units being merged — it all comes back to the same issue.

“We have fantastic gardaí in Cork, who are stretched to their absolute limit, and that leads to more drugs being available, which leads to health implications, antisocial behaviour, lots of issues which are a massive concern to communities right across Cork city.”

Mr O’Callaghan said: “Tackling drug dealing and organised criminal activity remains a top priority for the Government and my department. An Garda Síochána continues to implement Operation Tara across the country, which focuses on disrupting and dismantling drug-trafficking networks at all levels.

“Significant resources have been committed to this effort, including an unprecedented allocation of over €2.48bn to An Garda Síochána in Budget 2025.”