Shoplifting incidents in Cork City have increased by a staggering 86% over the past two decades, prompting urgent calls for a comprehensive retail crime strategy from the government.
According to recent figures, recorded shoplifting incidents in Cork City jumped from 1,440 in 2003 to 2,682 last year. The city experienced a particularly sharp rise between 2023 and 2024 alone, with incidents increasing by 26.7%.
Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú is now pressing the government to expedite the retail crime strategy promised in the programme for government. The Fianna Fáil representative has called for mandatory prison sentences for repeat shoplifters and an end to “retail defamation” – where shop owners can face legal action for stopping someone they genuinely believe has stolen from their premises.
“Retailers have become disillusioned by the rise in shoplifting, and filing a report with gardaí is hardly worth it as so many shoplifters are repeat offenders,” Ní Mhurchú stated.
The problem extends beyond Cork City, with North Cork seeing shoplifting incidents more than double from 207 in 2003 to 474 in 2024. West Cork experienced a 64% increase during the same period, rising from 88 to 144 incidents.
Central Statistics Office data indicates an upward trend across most counties, with Tipperary, Wexford, Wicklow, Kildare, and Limerick recording some of the largest increases between 2003 and 2024. However, Mayo, Donegal, Waterford, Clare, and Galway have seen slight decreases between 2023 and 2024.
According to The Irish Examiner, the government previously committed to a strategy that would include “targeted actions” to reduce retail crime, updates to the Public Order Acts allowing prolific offenders to be excluded from premises, and examination of specific offences for assaulting retail workers. A grant scheme for anti-theft measures was also promised to shop owners.
The issue was recently raised in the Dáil by Fianna Fáil’s Aisling Dempsey, who described shoplifting as “a plague on small businesses” and “a worrying trend, because it often precedes an increase in more serious crime.”