Mr. Colin Connolly:

A pool of 3,450 farmers was used in the trial, which was carried out in counties Donegal and Tipperary and was welcomed by those involved in it. No item that has been marked as part of the Theft Stop initiative has been stolen since the start of the initiative. We can stand 100% over that figure. I think it is a very good figure. It suggests the strength of the system. At the moment, we have a county-by-county roll-out plan. While Theft Stop is available nationwide and any member of the public can log on and use it, we have decided to launch it on a county-by-county basis through our IFA executive meetings. We carried out our first launch in County Laois the night before last. Although it is probably too early to quantify the figures for registration and sign-up, it is obvious from the expressions of interest and the national and local media coverage that Theft Stop will be put on a national footing. The cross-Border links with the PSNI will be invaluable as we try to close down the systems that are used to move machinery and cattle across the Border. The IFA is associated with tagging. Essentially, we are now tagging property with a serial number that makes it uniquely identifiable. When I was a member of the Garda Síochána, I encountered the problems that can arise with the repatriation of property. This is the first time this country will have a database of property that can be used in this way. This initiative is being initially rolled out to target the theft of farm machinery and other crimes that take place on farms but I do not see why it cannot go out into the wider community. The Garda deals on a daily basis with the theft of bicycles and other items that are not returned. A cost is associated with storing this property if it is not located.

Therefore I think it is definitely a system that can and will be expanded upon.