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Ireland's shoplifting response divides over prisons and street patrols

Prime Time contrasts a shop closure driven by staff fear with a Limerick retailer's account of sharply fewer thefts after frequent police patrols.

Channel: RTÉ News ·

IrelandStory of November 11, 2026Trari Newsroom

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RTÉ News: The news division of RTÉ, Ireland's public broadcaster. 257K subscribers and 184M views.

Inside Ireland’s shoplifting problem | Prime Time

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:40The report cites official figures showing recorded shoplifting offences rose 60% between 2016 and 2025.
2:40Aidan Colgan recounts an attack on an employee and explains why staff safety fears forced his shop to close.
5:03Prime Time examines prison sentences, overcrowding and early releases before explaining the legal hurdles to refusing bail.
8:42Proposed arrest powers for bail breaches feature alongside questions about delays to a government Retail Crime Strategy.
10:59Saoirse Brady advocates community service and addressing the causes of offending rather than repeated imprisonment.
13:10Shane Gleeson credits frequent Garda patrols with roughly 90% fewer shoplifting incidents and confidence to open a café.

Aidan Colgan says fear for his staff forced his sports shop to close after an employee was attacked with a hurley, the stick used in hurling. Elsewhere, Limerick retailer Shane Gleeson describes opening a new café after frequent police patrols helped bring shoplifting down.

Those contrasting experiences frame "Inside Ireland's shoplifting problem | Prime Time", a report from Ireland's public broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) News. It examines not just theft at the counter, but what happens between an arrest, a court appearance and an offender's return to the street.

Citing Central Statistics Office figures, the programme reports that recorded shoplifting offences rose by 60% between 2016 and 2025. CCTV footage shows people taking goods openly. Circle K Ireland senior manager Mark Gannon explains that staff are instructed not to intervene, putting their safety ahead of recovering stock.

"This individual has made no attempt to disguise themselves in any way, shape, or form," Gannon says of one person shown in the footage.

The report then follows the pressures on the justice system. It says fewer than a fifth of theft cases result in prison sentences, while overcrowding contributes to early releases. Barrister Lorcan Staines argues for more prison places, but also explains the legal obstacles to refusing bail: a person facing a new charge remains presumed innocent of that offence.

Prime Time examines proposals to give Gardaí, Ireland's national police, arrest powers for breaches of bail conditions. It also questions delays in producing a government Retail Crime Strategy. Gannon describes a "revolving door" and says retailers are not seeing a coherent government response.

Saoirse Brady, executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust, offers a different prescription. She argues that repeatedly imprisoning people is expensive and ineffective, advocating community service and measures addressing the causes of offending. "So prison is not acting as a deterrent," she says.

The final section turns to proactive, visible policing in Limerick. Gleeson credits frequent Garda patrols with reducing shoplifting in his premises by roughly 90%, giving him the confidence to expand with a café.

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