Gardaí are appealing for information from the public following a number of thefts of telephone cables in the Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Meath areas in recent months.
There have been 66 incidents of cable theft nationwide in the past six months, the vast majority of which occurred in these areas.
The cables were “likely being targeted for copper contained within the cable itself,” gardaí said in a statement.
“The theft has not only resulted in significant loss to the affected telephone provider – in these cases Eir - but has also greatly impacted the public by way of telephone and internet service outages.”
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Metals such as copper and aluminium have significantly increased in value in recent years, and thieves have targeted the country’s electricity network on 135 occasions over the last five years, causing millions of euro in damage and exposing the public to severe danger, The Irish Times recently reported.
Cable thefts have to date been primarily occurring in rural locations. Gardaí said it could take two to three days in some cases to restore phone and internet services to affected households when the cables are removed.
To date, more than 1,500 households have had their services disrupted due to thefts of this nature nationwide.
“This crime has a detrimental effect on older, more vulnerable individuals living in rural communities as the loss of a phone service can significantly impact on their ability to access emergency services, medical alarm services and other supports,” a Garda statement said.
Gardaí issued an appeal for assistance and have asked for “vigilance in relation to this type of theft”.
Sgt Michael Duffy of the crime prevention office in the Cavan/Monaghan division said works on telephone cables "do not take place during the hours of darkness and that if the public notice activity on telephone cables at night they should treat this as unusual and make contact with their local Garda Station or call 999".
“These cables are located over ground on telephone poles and following these thefts cable casings are often left behind. Where a member of the public observes discarded casings they are urged to also make contact with their local Garda station as this information could be beneficial to this investigation,” he said.
Gardaí are also liaising with metal dealers and are appealing to them if they are approached to buy significant amounts of copper cable or copper in unusual circumstances to report this.
An incident room has been set up at Carrickmacross Garda Station and anyone with information can make contact with them on 042-9690190 or via their local Garda station.