Farmers in Lower Ormond call for Garda patrols

Farmers based in the Lower Ormond region and areas surrounding Borrisokane, Lorrha and Cloughjordan want more Garda patrols following a recent spate of criminal activity.

Trespassing, threatening behaviour and even intimidation with weapons have been reported on farms in the Lower Ormond area and last week farmers held a Monday morning meeting in Ballingarry to discuss their concerns.

The large attendance by farmers on a busy Monday morning reflects the growing frustration by the farming community at what they described as the lack of support and attention from the Gardaí.

Incidents of trespassing at both day and night of mostly men with dogs are widespread across the area and some farmers reported electric fencing being cut and livestock allowed to wander the road - with one incident of an animal being struck by a vehicle near Cloughjordan.

Another farmer said he witnessed animal cruelty to wildlife and one farmer reported he was threatened with an iron bar by men trespassing on his land.

Local elected representatives say the amalgamation of the Tipperary and Clare Garda Districts has resulted in Gardaí being spread too thinly across a vast policing district stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in West Clare to Clonmel and Roscrea.

The situation was raised in the Dáil last week by North Tipperary Fianna Fáil TD and Cloughjordan native, Ryan O'Meara last week, who reported several incidents of abusive and threatening behaviour to farmers, many of whom fear their property is being "scoped out" for potential future thefts.

He said farmers in North Tipperary are living in fear of repeated night-time trespass on their land and called for a full review of trespass law and of the Tipperary-Clare Garda division.

Deputy O'Meara said he met around 30 farmers in Ballingarry at 10am on Monday, where they described repeated incidents of people entering their land without permission, often at night, with lurcher dogs, lamps and thermal scopes.

The affected areas include Ballingarry, Carrig, Riverstown, Aglish and parts of Lower Ormond between Borrisokane, Birr and Portumna.

He told the Dáil one farmer had the same group of men return to his land every week for five weeks. In another case, a group's lurcher caught a hare, which was killed in front of the farmer, who was then threatened and had fencing damaged.

"These are not simply disputes about access to land," Deputy O'Meara said. "They are matters of community safety, personal security and animal welfare."

He stressed that his comments were not a criticism of local Gardaí but said farmers had raised concerns about response times, the distance from stations, difficulty contacting local stations and cross-district arrangements for responding to calls.

Nenagh is the main station for the area, while the Borrisokane and Roscrea Garda Stations are not open 24 hours and most often calls are redirected to the Nenagh Station.

Deputy O'Meara renewed his opposition to the merger of the Tipperary and Clare Garda Divisions, describing it as "a huge mistake" adding that Tipperary and Clare are large enough to warrant two separate divisions.

He called on Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan to engage with the Garda Commissioner on rural policing in the area and said he did not accept that current trespass laws were adequate and called for a full review and tougher penalties.