‘Absolute chaos’ - Gangs of children ‘wreaking havoc’ on Irish streets

A number of Irish retailers are becoming increasingly concerned about ‘gangs of children’ engaging in anti-social behaviour.

These groups, which include children as young as ten-years-old, are said to be causing “absolute chaos” by abusing staff, shoplifting and trashing shops,

Speaking to RTÉ’s Prime Time, Limerick shopowner Geraldine Kearney outlined her concerns.

Ms Kearney said: "We've seen an awful lot of 10 to 12-year-olds coming in wreaking havoc. They invade the shop in gangs of five to seven.

"They danced on our counters. They trashed the place, turned on ice cream machines [to pour over the floor]."

Ms Kearney, who runs a Londis and Circle K in on the outskirts of Limerick city, added that the children distract her shop staff by causing bedlam before jumping over the counter to rob vapes and other products.

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Rajesh Malik, who is originally from India, has run his own phone shop in Lucan, Dublin for the last 15 years.

Speaking to Prime Time, Mr Malik gave details of an assault that he suffered at the hands of a group of teenagers.

He said: "I was going towards my car. One of the guys, he was 16 or 17, came in from behind, and hit me. And then all four of them [joined in].

"I was on the ground, all four of them, they started hitting me." Mr Malik said he was left badly injured and needed three operations in hospital to treat his injuries.

He reported the incident to the Gardaí, but he said the perpetrators have not yet been identified.

Mr Malik concluded by saying that the perpetrators are not afraid of anybody and they think “nobody can touch them”.

Meanwhile, retailer Shane Gleeson told the programme that shop workers are being “assaulted or attacked every day of the week”.

Those who use public transport, particularly to commute to and from work, have also reported an increase in anti-social behaviour.

Anti-social behaviour consists of actions which are considered to violate the rights of or otherwise harm others by committing crime or nuisance.

However, many of these incidents are not recorded in official crime statistics, making it difficult to measure if there has been a definitive increase in anti-social behaviour.