Low level of Garda Checkpoints in rural areas highlighted in survey
The President of ICMSA, Denis Drennan, has expressed “real concern” at the findings of the Agriland - ICMSA Survey, commissioned to coincide with this year’s Ploughing Championships, that showed that 57% of the 2300 farmer respondents had not encountered a Garda Checkpoint in their localities in the previous two years.
The survey results showed identical findings over all regions of the state and will give some impetus to queries about the level of policing in rural Ireland and ‘on the ground’ Garda presence at a time when concerns about wider rural crime and serious driving infringements are growing.
Mr Drennan said that while there will doubtless be some for whom checkpoints of any kind are an inconvenience, the overwhelming majority of rural communities were reassured by encountering Garda Checkpoints as it was tangible evidence of a real presence and commitment to policing rural areas and safeguarding the inhabitants.
“Obviously the Gardai will have their own strategy, but we are bound to note with some concern that this amount of people have gone two whole years living and driving around their own local rural communities without ever having once encountered a Garda Checkpoint. This might be something that the relevant authorities might want to look at, especially given the widespread concerns around recent incidents and a perception that crimes aimed at farmers in their communities is again on the upswing.
"We all know that this is a complicated issue and that simple responses are rarely the full answer, but the concern would be that these findings are revealing a ‘wind-down’ of Garda activity and presence at precisely the time when rural communities need reassurance that they are being policed properly and safeguarded. People need to see the Gardai and if that means the very temporary inconvenience of a Garda Checkpoint at nighttime or even during the day, then most farmers and rural dwellers will consider that a small price to pay”, he concluded.
