Taxi drivers in Limerick are unwittingly made to pick up drugs on a regular basis
Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Road safety groups have expressed alarm that the number of Garda Road Policing Unit (RPU) personnel has dramatically dropped over the last 15 years, as traffic fatalities continue to spiral in Ireland.
The number of RPU personnel has dropped by 41 per cent since 2009 with a total of just 620 officers, according to revised figures published for May.
This figure was at its highest in 2009, with 1,046 officers working 15 years ago.
READ MORE - Leaving Cert 2024: Nearly 61,000 students to receive exam results
Road safety group Parc founder Susan Gray told the Irish Independent that it was disturbing that numbers within the RPU were falling at the time deaths on roads were soaring to levels not seen for almost 15 years.
“There is an undeniable link between Road Policing Unit numbers, enforcement of road safety regulations and the safety of our roads,” Ms Gray said.
A total of 123 people have died on Irish roads so far this year, 9 per cent more than during the same period last year (113).
Worryingly, at the current rate of fatalities, Ireland could potentially record 200 deaths by December 31, making it the deadliest year on the roads for almost 15 years. Ireland last recorded in excess of 200 deaths in 2010, when 212 people died in traffic accidents.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
