Gardaí have confirmed that they are investigating a rural robbery in Co. Kilkenny where a number of items were stolen.
The robbery took place on a farm in the Ennisnag area of Stoneyford, Co. Kilkenny at approximately 12:30a.m on January 24.
Gardaí said no arrests have been made in relation to the robbery.
Details of the robbery emerged as the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has again warned that security is a growing issue for farm families.
The president of the IFA, Tim Cullinan, has urged all farm families “to make safety their priority for the year ahead”.
Cullinan said it was important that farmers identified “the risks to minimise the dangers to you and your family on your farm”.
He said that the IFA was continuing to “work with An Garda Síochána to deal with the problem of intruders on land”.
But Sinn Féin TD for Carlow and Kilkenny, Kathleen Funchion, believes that because there are “very few 24/7 manned garda stations in rural areas” this is a key issue for rural communities at this time.
“We know that it is very difficult with garda resources at the moment and we know that rural areas can be vulnerable because there is less chance of gardaí being in the area.
“Because of the distances that can be involved it can also take longer for the gardaí to get to you,” Deputy Funchion said.
She believes that additional garda resources and a rural-focussed campaign to support and create more awareness about rural crime issues in communities would be worthwhile at this time.
“Community policing is an excellent resource, it works really well,” she said.
“Community gardaí have developed excellent relationships but we know they are very much over-stretched. If you just take Co. Kilkenny and look at how large it is, how many rural villages there is, then we would need a lot more investment.
“I think we need a combination of crime prevention advice and more community policing in areas and this would be a start in tackling a lot of problems.
“It is also possible for communities to set up a community alert system and I believe this would be a particularly good support for farming families because if there is a burglary then it is not just the loss, for example, of machinery which farmers rely on, it is also the financial loss and the emotional impact of it which can be very difficult to come to terms with,” Deputy Funchion said.