'A regular occurrence': Fuel thefts of €40,000 a year at Limerick petrol station
Diesel Up Stealing Castletroy’s At Picture: A Shane Brendan Cross, Road Stations Time Inver Limerick, Gleeson Thieves €130 Owns To Who Cross In Are At Dublin Or Gleeson, Hurlers Said Of And Punches Petrol Petrol
Fuel thefts of €40,000 a year have driven one Limerick petrol station owner to breaking point, with repeated drive-offs threatening his business.
Shane Gleeson, who owns Inver Petrol Stations at Hurlers Cross in Castletroy’s Dublin Road and Punches Cross, Limerick, said thieves are stealing up to €130 of petrol or diesel at a time — with annual €20k loss each for his two outlets.
Mr Gleeson believes the drive-offs are being carried out by organised criminals, with tactics such as counterfeit registration plates, masking tape and shaving foam used to evade detection.
"We have people coming in now who have false plates. This is a regular occurrence so it’s impossible for gardaí to chase up those responsible. Some people have covered their plates with shaving foam. Your staff should spot this when you’re releasing the pump, but this can be hard when things are really busy.”
Christmas, he said, marks the “peak season for drive-offs.”
"People are coming back from England and the north in very big jeeps. They are filling the vehicle with €130 worth of fuel without any attempt to hide their faces. Many are not local or just don’t care.
Mr Gleeson said some are regular offenders and he wants to see a greater crackdown on fuel thefts.
“They are getting fine upon fine, which is no punishment at all because they don’t ever pay them."
He pointed to Australia where a "payback" system is in place, where the courts automatically deduct the price of a fine from social welfare payments.
"This has been trialled in Australia and we know it had a dramatic impact. It reduced the instance of this in Australia considerably. We have seen the proof in other countries so I don’t see why it shouldn’t work here.”
Staff intimidation also happens frequently.
“I have had people come in for hot chicken rolls after stealing fuel. On those occasions I have thrown them out. That’s all I can do. However, this doesn’t stop them trying to intimidate you."
While some retailers have installed pre-pay fuel pumps, these are not an option Mr Gleeson wishes to explore.
“It is very hard if you go down that road. Not everybody has a card or is confident in using one. We like to maintain the human touch. It’s better for the shop as well if people come in because they generally tend to buy something else."
A spokesperson for the Irish Petrol Retailers Association said fuel theft is a major issue across the entire country and one which has increased over the past 2.5 years as oil prices rise.
They also said "There are many variations of fuel theft. There is the criminal cohort who simply chance their arm and those who genuinely forget to pay. A straw poll of the IPRA membership would suggest that the average loss per station is approx. €2,500 per annum. Noone is a winner with fuel theft which ends up costing consumers more as station owners need to recoup their losses somehow. It is also a huge waste of Garda time.”
The spokesperson added: "What we at the IPRA believe is really needed is third party access to the driver database to chase and deter perpetrators. We would like to explore the option of the IPRA (or another other third party) being empowered to reduce criminal activity on fuel service stations and coordinating civil action in respect of non-payment for transactions by motorists. It would reduce the demand on Garda to chase payments and allow them to allocate valuable resources and time on other more pressing issues."