People in rural areas urged to mark property with Eircode to combat crime

Farmers, homeowners and business owners are being urged to sign up to a new system aimed at tackling rural crime.

The Property Marking Ireland programme is being set up by the Government in the hope of creating an extra barrier for thieves.

It involves marking equipment or machinery with a person's Eircode.

It means in the case of theft, Gardaí can trace it back to its owner if recovered.

Minister of State for Rural Affairs Sean Canney said the system will make thieves think twice.

He said: "It's another barrier for people who think they can go in and take machinery, take plant and take stuff from builders yard and go off with it.

"If the encrypted Eircode is put onto the machine it means the perpetrators of these crimes will not be as confident when they take things in the future, knowing that there is a way of tracing them back to the owner."