The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has urged Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan to review existing trespass laws.

In response to a recent parliamentary question, the minister said he has no plans to change current laws around trespassing on farmland, adding that the current legislation is "robust".

ICMSA president Denis Drennan said he had "no doubt" that Minister O’Callaghan "genuinely thought that the laws were sufficient to the challenge".

However, he said the issue looked very different from the perspective of a farmer who repeatedly has to confront groups deliberately trespassing on their land to hunt illegally.

The ICMSA president cited recent reports, particularly in Co. Tipperary, which show that trespassing incidents involving threats and intimidation of farmers were still frequent and unresolved.

"There will be no response from the trespassers and the idea that these groups will enter voluntarily into a process of civil litigation is, I’m afraid to say, entirely naive.

"The only way we can deal with this kind of repeated illegal trespassing is for the State to draft laws that squarely address the offense and then instruct the gardaí to energetically enforce those laws," he said.

Trespass

Drennan said that an "endemic problem" in parts of Limerick and North Cork have "receded somewhat" following a sustained campaign by ICMSA and a more co-ordinated response by local gardaí.

"The problems being experienced in Tipperary are either a question of a local policing strategy or the existence of a real gap in existing legislation.

"It’s well worth noting that the gardaí have stated on numerous occasions that the legislation is not sufficiently robust and needs to be updated," he said.

Laws

The ICMSA president said it is a matter for Minister O'Callaghan to determine whether there is a gap in the law or application of existing laws.

He acknowledged the success of Operation Thor, but said it was important to differentiate between the rural burglaries that this strategy was formulated to address and the ongoing problem of trespass.

"ICMSA is much more inclined to agree with the gardaí here and we believe that the legislation needs to be strengthened.

"We are asking the minister to look again at the legislation as a matter of priority," Drennan said.