Garda Antoinette Prior with farmer, Charlie Shanley and acting burglar, using the Property Marking Ireland machine, which engraves an individual's Eircode onto their property, at a local farm in Killeshandra, Cavan.

Eircode have teamed up with not-for-profit company Property Marking Ireland and local communities, to roll out a nationwide property marking programme which aims to combat property theft and assist in the identification and return of stolen property.

Property marking is a community-led initiative, with the company working with local communities to run events where people can get their property marked with their Eircode.

Property that is marked with the Eircode is less attractive to thieves as it is difficult to sell and easier for An Garda Síochána to trace the owner.

Eircodes can be marked onto farm equipment, garage and garden tools, power tools, computers and electrical devices, many mobile phones and tablets and much more – material from steel and aluminium to plastic can be marked.

These Eircodes are difficult to remove and can be repeated a number of times on the one item.

Warning signs are also put up in the community to make criminals aware that property is now marked and thus make it less attractive for theft, as the Eircodes are difficult to remove and can be repeated a number of times on the one item.

REDUCING CRIME

“We are delighted to see the implementation of Eircode in this shared initiative, demonstrating another example of the critical function of individual address identification and how it can facilitate community benefit”, says Karen Dwyer, Operations Director, Eircode.

“Local authorities and communities collaborating with Property Marking Ireland, further strengthens the common purpose of community led crime prevention, reducing both property crime and the fear of crime in rural and urban areas.”

“Working with Eircode, this shared initiative is making an impact in rural communities in particular where there is a high volume of property theft from farms and an increasing number of unrecovered pieces of expensive farm equipment,” says James O’Neill, Development Manager of Property Marking Ireland.

TIPPERARY IN LINE FOR MARKING

Property marking with Eircodes has commenced in West Cork, Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim and Sligo and will be followed in the coming months several other counties, including Tipperary.

Local communities can get more information from Property Marking Ireland https://propertymarking.ie