Garda investigations into the theft of a John Deere tractor are continuing in the midlands, with an appeal made for information in relation to the matter.

Confirming the news to AgriLand, a spokesperson for An Garda Síochána added:

“Gardaí are investigating the theft of a tractor from a construction site near Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, on Monday, March 9.”

The theft is believed to have occurred between approximately 3:00am and 7:30am.

The tractor in question is a John Deere 6920S tractor, which was stolen from a road works compound on the N52 near Delvin.

No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing at present.

Making an appeal to the public, Gardaí asked anyone with any relevant information to get in touch with Mullingar Garda Station on: 044-9384000.

Rural Ireland ‘won’t suffer’ in Covid-19 response

Rural Ireland will not see a reduction in policing capacity as part of the Gardaí’s response to coronavirus (Covid-19), Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said.

Commissioner Harris was speaking at Garda Headquarters in Dublin last Friday, March 13, where he announced a raft of measures to ensure that Garda resources are adequate to respond to the escalating situation.

In answer to a question from AgriLand, Commissioner Harris said: “This is also a community policing response, community reassurance.

In what we’re doing in terms of rosters, that’s an uplift everywhere, including rural areas.

“Indeed, we’re supplying additional vehicles. We’re hiring a further 210 vehicles, and that is to support community policing,” the commissioner added.

“We do not see that rural Ireland is going to suffer in terms of our numbers, and indeed we should see that we would be part of an overall community response to support isolated groups and those that have to self isolate,” Commissioner Harris said.