A shop owner in Co Limerick has spoken out about how he and his son have both been on the receiving end of harassment, vile abuse and shoplifting as a crime wave hits Ireland.
The issue is not confined to shops like Spar, with The Retail Grocery Dairy & Allied Trades Association raising the alarm over its members' concern about the increase in anti-social behaviour.
Shane Gleeson, who runs five Spar shops in Limerick city, said he has been threatened with broken glass and his son has been threatened with a knife.
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"I've had a bottle of wine broken and been threatened with the broken glass. I've had guys with needles…My son was threatened with a knife."
Shane estimated that petty crime is costing him €70,000 to €80,000 per year in just one of his five shops.
Tonight, Shane will talk about the surge in harassment, physical attacks, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour they are experiencing in a Prime Time special report.
He told Prime Time: "We've noticed since Covid a very small element of society has gotten far more aggressive, and it is difficult to deal with."
He added: "Routinely, they'll say, ‘I will wait for you outside’, ‘We'll get you when you go home’, ‘I will kill you… I'll burn you out’."
Tara Buckley, Director General of RGDATA, which represents over 4,000 independent grocery stores, added that their members are beginning to raise major concerns.
"The amount of crime day in, day out - shoplifting, theft, assault, harassment, racist attacks, sexual harassment…our members are really concerned."
She added: "Young staff are being harassed; the racism staff who are from other countries have to deal with; spitting, kicking, punching, shouting and making a scene in the store, throwing things at them. It's actually out of control."
Meanwhile, two sisters, Sheila and Catherine Clarke, who run Clarke’s XL shop in Ballina, Co Mayo revealed that "at the moment, we're almost going through a pandemic of petty crime."
Elaine Brennan, an area Manager for Circle K in Dublin, told the show’s reporters: "I have witnessed staff members being verbally abused, racially abused and ...physically abused.
"A small portion of our business will be 24/7 and at later stages of the night, we get people in intoxicated.
"This would bring on aggressive behaviour, which leads to foul language, shouting and, unfortunately, sometimes they will put their hands on our colleagues."
A recent RGDATA survey of the owners of 400 convenience shops, forecourt stores and supermarkets found that 95 per cent of them have been victims of crime in the last 12 months.
The survey found that 93 per cent have been victims of shoplifting and a quarter have been the victims of robberies or burglaries.
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