Former Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan has suggested shopping centre managers should ban people wearing hooded tops on their premises to reduce shoplifting.
Mr Noonan, Fine Gael TD for Limerick East, said most shoplifters wore hooded tops because camera security systems were largely ineffective in identifying people wearing hoods.
"Most shoplifting, according to gardaí, in shopping centres and shopping malls is now being undertaken by people wearing hoods, usually younger people, both male and female. Security systems which are dependent on cameras are largely ineffective in identifying a person who shoplifts wearing a hood."
He told RTÉ's News at One that "quite clearly shop owners and management of shopping malls would have the discretion to prevent the wearing of hoods on their premises".
Mr Noonan said it was down to individual shopping centres to introduce rules that would reserve the right of admission. "Premises always reserve the right of admission. Many clubs and restaurants have a dress code for entrance to their premises," he added.
Mr Noonan said he was not proposing an outright ban on the wearing of hooded tops in shopping centres, but only that shop management had the right to ask someone to take their hood down before entering premises. "All I'm proposing is that at the discretion of shopping centres, management and shop owners, that a person should be required when to take the hood down. They don't even have to take the jacket off."
A Limerick shopping centre has already introduced a ban on hooded tops, Mr Noonan said, and with great success. "One shopping centre in Limerick has been trying it in the last couple of weeks and they're very happy with the success."
However, Mr Noonan's proposal has been criticised by Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin West, John Curran. "If we look at the profile of the people wearing them it's very, very common among young people. And I think in many ways by turning around and saying 'ban the hoodie', or whatever, it's categorising a lot of young people in a way that I feel is inappropriate."
Mr Curran added that he did not have a problem with people being asked by shop management to take down their hood, so long as the garment was not banned outright from shops.
Results from a crime survey compiled in Mr Noonan's constituency confirmed that many people are intimidated by youths in hooded tops. "In the survey, that had 1,000 responses, there was a very high incidence of people saying they were intimidated by groups of people in hoods going around shops where ordinary consumers were going about their ordinary shopping."
The Department of Justice declined to comment on the issue last night.