Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thanks to Deputy Stanton, who is not in the Chamber, we had a hearing this morning on the issue of shoplifting, which is costing each family in the country €1,000 every year. A very high level of frustration was expressed at the hearing, with massive under-reporting of the problem and a sense that there is no deterrent when people are caught. I welcome the Minister's announcement of an initiative in this area, but one thing that needs to be done is the barring of repeat offenders from certain areas of cities or towns so there is an effective deterrent that can be quickly applied.

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