Organised illegal hunting gangs on farmers’ land is an ‘endemic problem’ in Limerick
REPRESENTATIVES of ICMSA have met with the Department of Justice, An Garda Siochana, and the National Parks and Wildlife in relation to gangs of men trespassing on farmers' land.
ICMSA deputy president Denis Drennan said many matters needed to be clarified if what he called the “endemic problem” of farm trespass by organised illegal hunting gangs is to be addressed and dealt with.
Members of Limerick ICMSA have spearheaded getting the issue onto the national agenda.
Mr Drennan said that while any such meeting was useful, there did seem to be some confusion on the part of the State as to the exact powers that responding gardai can utilise.
“We asked the ‘State’ side of the meeting what powers guards responding to calls from farmers regarding threatening trespassers had to deal with these individuals and whether the guards themselves were aware of those powers and procedures.
“ICMSA has heard from several farmers - who had been in this situation – and who told us that they had the impression that the guards arriving at the scene of a trespass or stand-off did not themselves seem to know what to do beyond asking these gangs to move on.
“This is really the nub of the problem: is there any sanction or consequence for the trespassers beyond that? Because if there isn’t, the farmer is usually in a worse position for having contacted the guards then if he or she had done nothing and just continued to allow himself or herself to be threatened and bullied by these gangs,” said Mr Drennan.
He said gardai need to have a meaningful response procedure and the trespass and threats must have consequences for these gangs or there’s really no point in the guards coming out.
The ICMSA deputy president said some practical steps are needed to get a better and more rapid response system and he specified extending the Eircode system to land holdings and the publication of divisional or district crime prevention officers who could be reached by farmers on a 24/7 basis via mobile.
The major area identified by ICMSA, however, was the compilation of relevant specific data that goes beyond general complaint statistics.
“We need a much more comprehensive record of this problem above and beyond other instances of rural reporting.
How many complaints did the guards receive about this kind of trespass-hunting and whereabouts? What was the response – if any? Was there a report by the guards concerned and if there was, was there any follow-up? Are the same individuals or groups of individuals being noted at these incidents and is there a recurring pattern of abuse and intimidation on their part?
“The State agencies and An Garda Siochana are going to have to get serious about this and we are going to need a much more detailed and coherent account of what ICMSA believes to be a really insidious and nationwide problem,” said Mr Drennan.