NEW INITIATIVE IN THE BATTLE AGAINST RURAL CRIME

I was in Airfield Estate in Dublin recently to launch a great new initiative in the battle against rural crime.
Homeowners, farmers and businesses can now use their unique seven digit Eircode to have their property engraved.
It means that stolen property can be traced back to the owner by the gardai.
We all know that property theft is very prevalent in Rural Ireland and we need to put every barrier in place to rule it out.
Using Eircodes is a clever way of identifying ownership. Farmers in particular will be able to indelibly mark their valuable agricultural machinery so that it can easily traced.
The initiative is being rolled out by Property Marking Ireland, a not-for-profit company that works with local communities and organises public events where people can get their property marked.
I would encourage Community Alert Groups and Joint Policing Committees to come together to use the PMI markings.
Anyone interested can contact their local authorities, while more information can be found at https://propertymarking.ie .
Joined me at Airfield for the launch were Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment Richard Bruton and Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan.