McDowell under fire as Garda numbers fall
The Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has come under fire after new Garda figures have revealed that membership of the force has fallen since the beginning of the year.
The Labour party says that the number of gardaí will not now meet the Minister's former commitment to recruit 2,000 officers by the end of this year.
The party's Justice spokesman Joe Costello claims that since the beginning of the year, numbers have decreased by 156 - and he said that the crime rate has significantly increased.
