Rural crime issues impacting farmers, including dog attacks on sheep and farm thefts, were highlighted at a meeting on community policing in Co. Leitrim.

The meeting in Carrick-on-Shannon was hosted by the Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA), as part of a public consultation on policing priorities in regional and rural areas over the period of 2026 to 2028.

The meeting was the first of four regional in-person consultations on these priorities, and saw engagement between community and representative groups with members of An Garda Síochána.

The PCSA is holding roundtable discussions with stakeholders and community groups at these four meetings.

These include rural community groups and farm organisations.

These stakeholders were asked to outline what areas they believe gardaí should focus their attention on, the PCSA told Agriland in a statement.

The authority said that the issues raised were varied, from community safety, rural crime, drugs, and gender-based violence, as well as road safety and garda visibility.

The overall consultation period runs from April 29 to June 8.

Brendan Golden, the Connacht regional chairperson for the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) was at the meeting as a representative of the farming community.

Speaking to Agriland, Golden said: "It was good engagement and there was representation from across the whole community at it. And then they had the garda representatives from the different sections as well that are involved in the different elements, all the areas that the gardaí cover.

"So it was very broad. I put forward all the farmers' concerns and I was saying, in the main, farmers are lucky, we're out the country...[but] if you need the gards, its nice to know that they’re there and they’re available," Golden added.

"The main issues we have to deal with...the dogs are a big one for us. That is not completely under [the gardais'] remit. The dog warden and councillors cover that as well. But at the same time if they are needed, [the gardaí] come in to cover that off," he said.

"The key thing that I was putting forward was the importance of the engagement that we have and that we have a strong relationship with the gardaí. [IFA] deputy president [Alice Doyle] would deal with them regularly and we have a very good working relationship with them," the IFA Connacht chair said.

Golden said that the issues of drugs in rural communities, and immigration, were also raised at the meeting.

"You could spend a few days discussing all the issues, but at the same time it was good for the gardaí to engage," he said.