Mr. Barry Carey:

The national police chiefs from the UK come together to discuss best practice. I attended a conference on rural crime in July. They face exactly the same problems, with exactly the same type of crime, but it is treated as organised crime. The National Farmers Union said that NFU Mutual, the insurance company, paid out just under €50 million last year due to rural crime. Some 15 to 18 months ago a rural crime taskforce was established. It is a small group of dedicated constables and officers, working in specific areas, and it worked. They took up the role of community police and crime prevention officers, and were out giving advice. They worked on inter-agency activities, and worked specific weekends when criminal activity was going on.