Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the front page of my local newspaper, the Roscommon Herald, this morning, the owner of a retail business spoke about the deep impact a burglary has had on his life and his business. No one deserves to feel unsafe in their own workplace. I am hearing about retail crime and shoplifting and about businesses not chasing people they catch stealing in their shops because of the cost of doing so and the poor likelihood of a conviction. We are failing businesses if that is the way we are leaving things and we do not protect them.For business owners who even ask somebody or take somebody they suspect of shoplifting aside, we have this whole issue of retail defamation. The person who has been approached can go after the business and get money off it. If someone has previously been convicted of shoplifting or robbery, he or she should not have a character to protect. It is our job to protect those businesses in that regard. Small business owners invest everything in their businesses - their time, their energy and their resources. I call on the House to have a debate on retail crime.