The Gardaí spent almost €14,000 on renting the Midlands National Shooting Centre of Ireland in county Offaly in the past 12 months due to a lack of facilities at the Garda Training College in Templemore.
Figures obtained by the Irish Times following a Freedom on Information request show the force spent €13,900 at the facility located near Tullamore so far this year.
The college in Templemore can provide handgun shooting training but its ranges are not suitable for the heavier weapons used by specialist units such as the Armed Support Unit and the Emergency Response Unit.
Other private shooting ranges around the country have also been rented by the Garda in the past 12 months.
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