A senior Garda has rejected suggestions that people are afraid to visit Cork.
Chief Supt Tom Myers' comments come as he confirmed that the city has 15 fewer Gardai that it did three years ago.
The Irish Examiner reports that he was responding to questions raised at a meeting of the Cork City Joint Policing Committee where several public reps said there is a perception that the city centre isn’t safe anymore.
Their comments follow two violent fights on city centre streets footage of which was widely shared on social media.
However Chief Supt Myers told the Committee that he believes the city is in a good place at the moment and said Gardai are dealing with beggars and antisocial behaviour at location.
He also confirmed that Gardai are stationed at strategic locations to manage night life in the city and this is working well.
Garda manpower in Cork is down 15 since 2019 despite an allocation of 15 new recruits.
At the moment, there are 591 Gardai in Cork.
