A tractor driver in Co. Kildare has received a €120 fine and three penalty points for using a mobile phone while operating a large tractor towing a slurry tank spreader.

Naas Roads Policing Unit detected the offence while on patrol. The driver was issued a Fixed Penalty Notice (FCN) of €120 plus three penalty points, the same sanction that applies to car and van drivers in Ireland.

An Garda Síochána Kildare made the enforcement action public and used it to warn every category of road user, farm machinery included.

What did gardaí say?

An Garda Síochána Kildare stated: "Whether you're driving a car, van, truck or tractor – put the phone away."

The force added: "Concentration belongs on the road, not on the screen. A split second of distraction can have life-changing consequences."

The case confirms that roads policing units are applying phone-use penalties to agricultural vehicles on public roads, not just to passenger cars. For contractors and farmers moving slurry equipment between farms during the spreading season, the enforcement carries a direct cost: €120 and three points on a licence, and accumulated points can threaten a driver's ability to hold a licence at all.

What is happening with tractor thefts in Kildare?

In a separate case, gardaí are appealing for information after the theft of a tractor from a farm on Millicent Road in Clane, Co. Kildare. A Massey Ferguson was taken in the early hours of Thursday, September 17.

Garda Órlaith Fahy of Clane Garda Station told KFM that a witness saw a black Nissan X-Trail SUV driving in front of the tractor, apparently guiding it. The registration of the black Nissan 4x4 is 06-D-71842.

A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána confirmed: "Gardaí are investigating following a report of a theft of a tractor at a residential premises in Clane, Co. Kildare in the early hours of Thursday, September 17, 2026."

The spokesperson added that "investigations are ongoing".

Anyone with information or dashcam footage from the night in question should contact Clane Garda Station on (045) 868 262 or the Garda Confidential Line on (1800) 666 111.

The detail of an escort vehicle guiding the stolen tractor points to an organised recovery operation rather than an opportunistic taking. Farmers in the Clane area with dashcam or CCTV coverage of Millicent Road from that night hold the material gardaí need.

What was stolen in Donegal?

Separately, gardaí are appealing for information after two batteries were stolen from a tractor in Co. Donegal. The theft occurred outside a business premises on the Ballyduff Road in Lifford between 6:00pm on Friday, September 18 and 1:00pm on Saturday, September 19 — a window of roughly 19 hours.

Gardaí have asked anyone who observed suspicious activity, vehicles or people in the area during that period to contact Letterkenny Garda Station on (074) 916 7100.

Battery thefts leave machinery immobilised at the start of a working day, and the Lifford case suggests opportunistic targeting of tractors parked outside business premises overnight. Operators in the area should check footage covering the Ballyduff Road across the Friday night to Saturday lunchtime window and report anything relevant to Letterkenny gardaí.