Is bike theft in Dublin out of control? 

Last year thieves took some 7,000 bikes in Ireland - 70% of which were stolen in Dublin. 

Over the weekend, the son of novelist Amanda Brunker had his bike stolen and she believes the crime is so common that it is not even worth reporting. 

“My son’s bike got stolen from a very busy area,” Amanda explained to Lunchtime Live.

“It’s just frustrating because my other son has had his bike stolen, their friends have had their bikes stolen. 

“It’s ridiculous the amount of people I see all the time going, ‘Have you seen my bike?’ 

“And I suppose it’s at a point now where people don’t even bother reporting it to the Gardaí because what is the point?”

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The number of people travelling by bike has surged in recent years - particularly during the pandemic when people wanted to avoid public transport. 

However, Newstalk listener Connor disagreed that cyclists are more likely to have their bike stolen than in previous years:

“I think like most cyclists I’ve had bikes stolen over the years,” Connor called in to say. 

“I’ve been cycling since I was a kid and I’m 50 odd now and I’ve probably had four bikes stolen over the years. 

“There’s an awful lot of it, I’m not too sure it’s any more common than it has been.” 

Bicycles left against railings.

Furthermore, unlike Amanda, he does think reporting it to the Gardaí is worthwhile: 

“To be fair to the Gardaí,” Connor continued, 

“They do a good job recovering bikes and quite a few of the people I know have had bikes recovered with the help of the guards - particularly higher value ones.”