Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I call for the Minister for Justice and Equality to outline her plans to combat increased thefts from farms. Farmers have been making the best of this weather by spreading slurry and doing all sorts of cutting and other general maintenance on their land. However, some are waking up to find that their machinery, equipment or livestock have been stolen from their yards or fields while they slept. Official figures indicate that burglaries on farmland fell 14% in 2016 on the corresponding figure for 2015, but each week that passes this year there are news reports of farmers being robbed of their possessions. In the past few months, tractors have been stolen from yards across the country, cattle and sheep rustled and vehicles and tools taken. In one week recently, the Irish Farmers' Journalreported that a quad bike and trailer were taken from a dairy farmer in County Waterford and that four miniature ponies worth €4,000 were stolen from fields in County Leitrim. On St. Patrick's Day, a tractor worth about €30,000 was taken from a farm in County Carlow at 7.30 p.m. It has been claimed that drones are being used to spy on farms, some of which are very easy targets if they are located near good road networks. This is why I would like the Minister to come to the House and outline what measures she is taking to protect farmers and what her Department is doing to prevent such crime from taking place in the first place. The closure of rural Garda stations has been very difficult for communities around Ireland, as we all know, and has increased the fears of those living on farms or in rural parishes.Last August, we had a major awareness campaign from the Garda Síochána, the Irish Farmers' Association, DoneDeal and Crimestoppers to halt thefts on farms but crimes against farmers, as I have been saying, continue to happen on a frequent basis. Of course, some farmers are potentially losing more money by offering cash rewards of thousands of euros in order to get their means of production back, while others are forced to pay higher premiums for insurance. That is the context in which it would be important that the Minister would come before the House.