Two senior Government ministers are urging farmers to mark their property with their eircodes in case goods are stolen.
In an effort to combat rural crime, Richard Bruton, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, as well as Charlie Flanagan, the Minister for Justice and Equality, called on farmers, householders and business owners to use this system.
Under the ‘Property Marking Ireland’ programme, property owners can mark items with their eircode. The aim of this is to prevent thieves from selling these items on, thereby deterring this type of rural crime.
“Eircodes are the perfect unique identifier for marking your property, making it much less appealing to thieves. This service works with local communities to send a clear message to criminals operating in the area that theft will not be tolerated, and makes it much easier for the Gardaí to return stolen property to the rightful owner,” said Minister Bruton.
His cabinet colleague Minister Flanagan added: “Good policing is about cooperation, and schemes like these are great because they help us help the Gardaí to keep us safe.”
He reiterated Minister Bruton’s point that eircode marking increases people’s chances of getting their goods back, and decreases the chances of being targeted by criminals in the first place.
“Property theft is very prevalent in rural Ireland and we need to put every barrier in place to rule out this type of illegal action,” said Minister Canney.
Eircode marking will be rolled out over the coming months in Donegal, Sligo, Cavan, Clare and Tipperary. Property Marking Ireland, a not-for-profit company, is spearheading the drive, and will organise events among local communities were people can get their property marked.
Further information on the programme can be found here.