The Minister for Justice has met with communities and groups in relation to current rural safety issues particularly trespassing and “taken on board” their concerns, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The DOJ said it recognised that “having someone trespass on your private property can be a frightening experience for homeowners, particularly in rural and isolated areas”.
“There is robust legislation in place in relation to trespass and any person who believes they have been the victim of trespassing should contact An Garda Síochána,” the department told Agriland.
According to the DOJ the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has met with a number of groups in relation to rural safety issues and most recently with community representatives from Clonmel in Co.Tipperary.
The DOJ said both Minister McEntee and the government are committed to “building stronger, safer communities and to ensuring that people across both rural and urban Ireland are safe and feel safe”.
Both the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) have recently warned that farm families are increasingly alarmed about incidents of country-wide rural crime and trespassing incidents.
IFA Limerick’s county chair, Sean Lavery, recently told Agriland that many farm families did not feel they were getting the support they needed because of a lack of Garda resources to tackle rural safety related issues.
“Sometimes the Gardaí appear not to have the ability to immediately respond to calls about these type of incidents and that is not reassuring for farmers.”
Pat McCormack, chair of ICMSA, has also highlighted that the “scale and intensity” of trespassing-related incidents is “rising rapidly” and the organisation is concerned that potential confrontations could “end in serious injury or worse”.
“Concerted focus is needed now through a campaign of increased Garda attention and action,” McCormack has said.
DOJ initiatives to build rural safety
According to the DOJ the government is “committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána has the resources required to maintain a strong, visible and effective police service in all of our communities.”
The department also stated that the government “recognises” that rural safety is not just about the number of Gardaí but that community safety is a “whole government responsibility and it requires a multi-agency approach”.
It also highlighted a number of initiatives funded by the department which it said helps “build rural safety”.
According to the department these include the national community alert programme, the local text alert scheme (administered by Muintir na Tíre), and the community based cctv grant aid scheme.
The DOJ also pointed to the winter phase of Operation Thor which it said is designed to tackle burglaries and criminal activities “through targeted enforcement and crime prevention activity and information”.