Begging on Cork city streets has increased, gardaí have said

Gardaí in Cork have noticed an increase in begging in the city centre including organised begging and are targeting resources to try and alleviate the problem in the run up to Christmas, a senior garda has confirmed to The Irish Times.

Supt John Quilter of Anglesea Street Garda Station confirmed that gardaí had arrested 15 people last week in situations where they were obstructing the footpath while begging. All have been remanded on station bail to appear in court.

“We have noticed an increase in begging in the past two months, but that’s probably down to a number of factors such as the fact that there is an increased footfall in cities like Cork and Dublin in the run up to Christmas so you get more people begging,” he said.

“It’s all reflective of the fact that the economy has improved so there are more pickings out there, as it were, for those begging and we are investigating if some of those arrested are parts of organised begging where people are dropped off from cars to spend a day begging in Cork city centre.”

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However Supt Quilter is keen to stress that not all begging is organised and points out many of those seen on the streets in Cork city centre are genuinely in need of cash due to poverty and dire personal circumstances after becoming homeless.

“On the one hand there’s an increase due to the fact it’s the run up to Christmas and the economy but on the other hand, you only have to walk around the streets at nights to see the number of people who are sleeping rough so there are many genuine hardship cases as well.”

Cork Business Association

Supt Quilter said the gardaí were aware of the problem of increased begging from their own observations. It had also been brought to their attention by the Cork Business Association and they are investigating if some of the organised begging is being directed by Eastern European gangs.

“We have got complaints that it is organised and we are looking into that and are focussed on it within the resources available to us,” he said.

“It’s a city centre problem because of the greater footfall there, particularly at this time of the year, but remember, we also have to police the suburbs.”

He said the Cork Business Association had raised the matter.

“We are devoting resources to it, but we also have to be conscious of the needs of residents living in various suburbs, they are entitled to see police on patrol as well, so it’s a question of balancing our resources.”

Supt Quilter said gardaí deal with the problem in different ways. In some cases, people are arrested and charged with obstruction and bailed to appear in court. In other situations, gardaí may caution an offender, depending on the merits of the case.