Over half of Ireland's farmers have been the victim of theft, however not all reported the crime to Gardaí.
It's among the findings contained in a new study carried out by TU Dublin and the Irish Farmers Association. The survey based on a sample of 1,330 responses from the farming community, found 55 per cent were the victims of theft.Of those who were burgled, 71 per cent reported it to Gardaí and 29 per cent did not.
The primary reasons given for not reporting were based on a belief the incident was not serious enough; the police would do nothing about it; and there was insufficient evidence to warrant police action. 60 per cent of the respondents believe Gardai should have a dedicated unit to deal with farm thefts and rural crime. The majority of farmers said they were fearful of being burgled, but only one-third have an alarm on their dwelling.
