The president of Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) Denis Drennan expressed “real concern” over the finding that 57% of farmers have not seen a garda checkpoint in two years.

This figure was revealed in a comprehensive survey by Agriland and the ICMSA, which queried over 2,300 farmers.  

The survey results showed identical findings over all regions of the state.

According to the ICMSA, the findings will give some impetus to queries about the level of policing in rural Ireland and "on the ground" garda presence at a time when concerns about wider rural crime and serious driving infringements are growing. 

Drennan said that while there will doubtless be some for whom checkpoints of any kind are an inconvenience, the overwhelming majority of rural communities were reassured by encountering garda checkpoints.

He added that the checkpoints represent tangible evidence of a real presence and commitment to policing rural areas and safeguarding the inhabitants.

Strategy

The ICMSA president said: “Obviously the gardai will have their own strategy, but we are bound to note with some concern that this amount of people have gone two whole years living and driving around their own local rural communities without ever having once encountered a garda checkpoint.

“We all know that this is a complicated issue and that simple responses are rarely the full answer, but the concern would be that these findings are revealing a ‘wind-down’ of garda activity and presence at precisely the time when rural communities need reassurance that they are being policed properly and safeguarded.”

He added that people “need to see the gardai” and that the temporary inconvenience of a checkpoint “is a small price to pay”.