Ms Tara Buckley:

The Deputy is right about the additional costs of retail crime. For example, one of our members had the recycling bins outside his business set on fire by a gang of youths. The end bill was between €60,000 and €70,000 because the fire hit the vents going into his refrigerator system, so he not only had to replace his bins, but also his whole refrigeration system. It looks like it is a minor crime but it causes a huge cost. Our members take a lot of pride in the presentation of their stores and invest a lot in that. If someone smashes windows or internal cabinets or break things, there is a significant cost involved in putting those back and fixing them. We never get that cost back. We might go to court and we might win a case, but we never get that back. Even though it seems like it is a robbery of something worth €100, the cost to the business owner of managing it is usually thousands of euro.

A retail crime forum has been set up by the Department of justice. We are happy to take part in that and to explore any of the ideas. We have put some ideas on the table around fixed penalty notices for shoplifting and a simpler court system, like a night court, where someone would be in front of a local justice on the day the crime happened. The Deputy is right. A problem for our members is that someone may have been robbing the shop, the shop brings the person to court and wins, and that person is back in the shop the next day robbing again and laughing at the shop. We need to nip this in the bud. We would be very supportive of anything that can be done through that forum and this forum to try to address the issue.