Farming Poll 2016: One-fifth of farm families are victims of crime

More than one-fifth of farm families say they or a member of their immediate family has been the victim of crime in the last 12 months, while almost 60% of respondents in an opinion poll do not believe there is an adequate Garda presence in rural Ireland.

The findings of the Irish Examiner/ICMSAopinion poll will increase the focus on rural crime, which gardaí believe has become a bigger issue in recent years.

Just last month gardaí, Crimestoppers, the IFA, and DoneDeal launched a campaign aimed at combating farm-related thefts.