This article first appeared on Galway Bay FM

There’s been a dramatic increase in regional shoplifting incidents over the past 20 years

Galway has seen a 101 per cent increase between 2003 and 2024

Kildare has seen the biggest rise, with a 314 per cent increase

In Galway there were 752 shoplifting incidents in 2003, compared to 1513 last year

However, Galway has seen a 4.2 per cent decrease in shoplifting incidents between 2023 and last year

MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, who obtained the figures, has welcomed the short-term improvement in Galway, attributing it to more focused Garda actions

However she remains concerned about the long-term spike in Galway

MEP Ní Mhurchú is calling for a number of steps to be taken to tackle the issue generally