Retailers are urging the Government to urgently roll out a new plan aimed at tackling shoplifting and abuse of retail workers, reports RTE.
A specific Retail Crime Strategy—promising direct actions to curb retail crime and support impacted businesses—was included in the Programme for Government.
Minister of State for retail, Alan Dillon, stated that the Government is targeting publication of the strategy in the first quarter of next year, reports RTE.
Data from the Central Statistics Office shows nearly 33,000 ‘theft from shop’ incidents were recorded nationally in the year up to March—an increase of 3% on the previous year.
Separately, preliminary Garda statistics for the first half of 2025 indicate shop thefts in Dublin rose by 7%.
In 2023, Operation Táirge—set up to combat shoplifting—led to 8,460 arrests and 20,052 charges or summonses, reports RTE.
Earlier this year, gardaí revealed over 8,000 shop theft incidents were reported during the first quarter of 2025, leading to nearly 2,000 arrests and over 4,750 charges or summonses.
The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association has estimated that retail crime costs businesses more than €1.62 billion annually, reports RTE.
But shoplifting isn’t the only issue—retailers are also reporting an increase in the abuse and threats directed at their staff.
Nolan’s of Clontarf in Dublin has encountered a wide range of retail crime, including what’s known as ‘organised retail crime’.
Richard Nolan, Managing Director of the independent family supermarket, said shoplifting is “certainly on the rise” and noted that verbal and physical abuse of staff has “gotten worse”, reports RTE.
He also said “the notion of organised gangs, organised criminality” is more common.
“You get a group of people who are dropped into an area, and their instruction is to steal as much as they can possibly steal, in the shortest period of time,” he added, reports RTE.
“A number of ladies came in and one managed to walk out with a large trolley of groceries. The second group, we caught in the act, but the first trolley disappeared, and there was several hundred euros involved in that,” reports RTE.
Mr Nolan said those behind the thefts “seem to act with impunity” and claimed there’s “absolutely no deterrent”.
To protect staff, Circle K has installed anti-aggression systems across its retail network to discourage such incidents.
The company operates hundreds of fuel and convenience outlets across Ireland, reports RTE.
If an incident or anti-social behaviour occurs in a store, staff can activate a warning through a loudspeaker alerting people that CCTV is in operation and gardaí have been contacted.
CCTV lights flash as well, and footage is fed to a central command centre where monitoring staff can assist shop workers over a tannoy.
Circle K Ireland’s Senior Health, Safety and Environment Manager Mark Gannon said, “we’ve definitely seen an increase in harassment and threat towards our colleagues” since the Covid-19 pandemic, reports RTE.
“So much so, that we’ve had to invest in systems to protect our teams when they’re working in a retail store,” according to Mr Gannon.
He said 84 Circle K outlets now have “an anti-aggression system that help our teams deal with and address cases of aggression within their stores”, reports RTE.
“People come in, they can be very abusive, they can be very threatening towards our staff for very minor things, and then our staff have to deal with and manage those issues, then continue working in the store.”
Mr Gannon said in rare cases, staff have been assaulted, and though weapons have been shown during robberies, it’s uncommon.
He urged the Government to “act now” on delivering the Retail Crime Strategy, reports RTE.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in gardaí in Dublin \[city centre] but out in the suburbs and further out in the country, we need to see more gardaí on the streets,” he said, reports RTE.
“The presence of gardaí really deters crime and without the presence of the gardaí, it’s very difficult for the retailer to operate in that environment, and as a consequence of that, you see the increase of retail theft occurring,” reports RTE.
He also believes stronger deterrents are needed, saying current ones aren’t tough enough.
Retail Ireland’s Director says the Retail Crime Strategy needs to be “delivered by the end of this year” as shoplifting and worker abuse have become “a critical issue” for many stores.
Arnold Dillon said retail crime has jumped by nearly 50% over the past decade.
“I think what we saw was a really significant increase after Covid, and now it’s become a really critical problem for retail businesses right across the country,” said Mr Dillon, reports RTE.
He said rising crime is costing businesses “very significant” amounts and there’s also been “a really worrying and unfortunate increase in the level of staff abuse and harassment”.
Mr Dillon noted the Programme for Government contained “really important commitments” and that it’s “now important that we get delivery”.
“What we want to see is a Retail Crime Strategy delivered by the end of this year that will set out a whole range of different responses to address the problem, ranging from changes in the law to improving garda resources, so we can see a more visible presence on the ground, and also improved technology so we can better collaborate with businesses and the gardaí in terms of sharing information,” reports RTE.
The Department of Justice confirmed work is underway on the strategy.
A spokesperson said retailer feedback is being incorporated into the development of the plan, which will be discussed at the Retail Forum meeting next month.
The spokesperson also said the Defamation Bill “will introduce a new statutory defence in cases of so-called ‘retail defamation'”, reports RTE.
“Once enacted, the provisions of the Bill dealing with ‘retail defamation’ will provide for a balancing of the rights of retailers and consumers, promote good practice among retailers and allow retailers to deal effectively with unwarranted claims,” reports RTE.
Minister of State for Employment, Small Business and Retail, Alan Dillon, said the Government plans to publish the strategy within the first quarter of next year.
Alan Dillon said retail crime is a “serious issue” and addressing it is “high on Government’s agenda”, reports RTE.
“It not only affects frontline workers and businesses, but also the communities they serve,” said Mr Dillon, reports RTE.
“I have worked very extensively with Minister Jim O’Callaghan, the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána to deliver on our Programme for Government commitment around the dedicated Retail Crime Strategy,” he added, reports RTE.
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