Cheese And Baby Food Top The List As Shoplifting Rates Soar

Cheese, meat and baby food are among the top items stolen from Irish supermarkets, according to a new survey released today.

The research carried out by Retail Ireland revealed that 52 per cent of shopkeepers and retailers have experienced a spike in crime in recent years and 82 per cent have seen shoplifting figures soar.

Collectively, shoplifting equates to an overall loss of €512 million euro per year.

One of the most commonly stolen products is infant formula, along with cheese, meat, alcohol, sweets and confectionary.

Speaking to The Irish Examiner, Retail Ireland director Stephen Lynam said that products are often stolen for resale in the black market.

The experts reveal that there is an Irish grocery black market

"I don’t believe, in the main, that it’s because people are stealing to feed themselves," he said.

"I think it’s because there is a black market there for products to be resold and for people to buy such goods off the back of a truck and places like that." 

However, St Vincent de Paul Cork regional vice-president Brendan Dempsey told the paper that he was skeptical of the existence of a black market and the real problem in Ireland is poverty.

"I am not saying it doesn’t happen," he said.

"I can’t see anyone stealing sliced cheese or a loaf of bread just so they can sell it off the back of a lorry, for example. 

"All of these horror stories are from a hidden Ireland that politicians have only heard rumours of but just can’t seem to understand. 

"We spent €250,000 on refurbishing the lord mayor’s office in Cork so, as far as I’m concerned, they are living in a world of their own on this issue." 

“I can tell you for certain that we are visiting homes where people are definitely going hungry. We are coming across people that have nothing in the fridge or in the cupboard,” he finished.