Sinn Féin TDs Darren O’Rourke and Joanna Byrne, alongside Councillor Maria White, last night launched a set of proposals to address the Garda recruitment and retention crisis, at a public meeting on Garda resources held in Bettystown.
The meeting heard that Meath has the lowest number of Gardaí per head of population in the state, a situation that is having a direct impact on community safety. The local representatives said the Sinn Féin proposals would tackle this long-standing issue.
According to the Meath East TD, the number of sworn officers in the county stood at 318 as of September 2025 — the same number as in 2018 and just three more than in 2009, despite a huge population increase.
Deputy O’Rourke joined us on The Agenda this morning to give us all the latest on this and tell us more about what happened at the public meeting earlier this week.