Keep safety and security on summer priority list

Top of the Class - Galway participants in the Women in Community Leadership and Politics group who were presented with their FETAC Level 6 certificates recently by Mairead Lavery, editor of the Farmers Journal, Country Living magazine. The project was supported by the Le Cheile group and Galway Rural Development. Pictured are, back (l to r): Alice McDonnell, Paula Kennedy, Hilda Murray, Mairead O Reilly, Ann Flynn, Mairead Lavery, Linda Mellody, Mona Eames, Veronica Moyles, Galway Rural Development Chairperson, Tom Madden. Front: Bridie Costello, Yinka Dixon Oludaiye, Una Reilly, Margaret Slattery, Ciara McElwaine, Maura Canning.

placeholder image — Top of the Class - Galway participants in the Women in Community Leadership and Politics group who were presented with their FETAC Level 6 certificates recently by Mairead Lavery, editor of the Farmers Journal, Country Living magazine. The project was supported by the Le Cheile group and Galway Rural Development. Pictured are, back (l to r): Alice McDonnell, Paula Kennedy, Hilda Murray, Mairead O Reilly, Ann Flynn, Mairead Lavery, Linda Mellody, Mona Eames, Veronica Moyles, Galway Rural Development Chairperson, Tom Madden. Front: Bridie Costello, Yinka Dixon Oludaiye, Una Reilly, Margaret Slattery, Ciara McElwaine, Maura Canning.

FARMERS have again been advised to put in place ‘sensible security measures’ on access points to their yards and sheds to prevent opportunist thieves from striking.

Tools like angle grinders and chainsaws continue to be a popular target for the thieves – being light to transport and easy to ‘move on’ in black market sales.

Incidences of livestock thefts in Galway have petered out over recent months, although the Gardai advice that gates to fields with animals should be secured and locked, especially if they are away from the farmhouse.

Galway Garda Crime Prevention Officer, Sergeant Pat Flanagan, told the Farming Tribune that while farm thefts were at a relatively low level, certain security precautions should always be followed.

“With the silage season fast approaching, we are asking farmers and contractors with mobile diesel tanks to bring them back with them and to leave them in a secure place overnight – if they don’t, they could be emptied very quickly,” said Sgt. Flanagan.

He also asked farmers with sheds and land, located away from the home house, to ensure that all sheds and entrances were secured properly – the installation of a night light should also be considered.

Sgt. Flanagan said that battery electric fences – often visible from the roadway – were also a target for thieves. “Always locate such a fence in a location where it cannot be seen from the public road,” he said.

He also made a plea for farmers to prioritise safety in their farms and yards, especially in the context of the farm accident in Cork last week that claimed the life of an 18 month old child.

“It is certainly a good time of the year for farmers and their families to take a bit of time out and look at where they stand as regards security and safety on their farms,” said Sgt. Flanagan.

Co. Galway IFA Chairman, Pat Murphy, said that farmers needed to be conscious of security issues both in relation to their farms and their homes as well.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune