Waterford among top five worst-burgled counties in Ireland, new figures show

Waterford is among the top five worst-burgled counties in Ireland, new figures reveal. 

54 people were before the local court in Waterford facing burglary charges in the first nine months of 2025.

10 of those were sent for trial in the circuit court while the rest were dealt with in the county. 

These figures were provided by the Irish Courts Service to Ireland South MEP, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú.

They show that nationally, 1,187 people were before the courts for burglary offences in the first nine months of 2025. 

347 of those were sent forward for trial in the circuit court.

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A "relatively small" number of these people were repeat offenders, with figures showing that 729 burglary cases were tried but there were 529 offenders. 

Dublin has the highest rate of burglaries, followed by Cork and Limerick.

Clonmel is next on the list and Waterford follows with the fifth highest rate of burglaries in the country. 

Naas, Mullingar, Wexford, Tralee, and Bray make up the top 10 when.

Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has reiterated Garda calls on people to stop posting holiday pictures on social media, as these advertise that people are not at home.

She has also called for a range of measures to tackle burglary, including an end to the practice of letting burglars out on temporary release from prisons.

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38 burglars were on temporary release as of the 23rd of June 2025, according to figures provided by the Irish Prison Service.

She has also called for more targeted community supports to protect communities against burglary, including a doubling of funding under the Community Safety fund, more funding for community CCTV, and consideration to be given to expanding grant aid schemes for security alarms to be installed in the homes of older people, in particular those who are living alone in rural Ireland.

The Seniors Alert Scheme provides grant support for the supply of personal alarm equipment but not house alarms.