Gardai confirm organised begging

Kivaro · 20-12-2017 09:45AM #1

Finally we have a newspaper stating what many had known from previous experience. Quote from today's Examiner:
"People have flown in from Romania to take part in organised begging in Cork City, a senior garda has confirmed."

According to the Gardai, some of those involved in the organised begging had arrived in Ireland through Cork or Dublin airports, and then expanded out to other Irish cities.

While this act is despicable in itself, it also skews the stats of homelessness in Ireland. Those who are flown in to beg also are believed to have availed of the services of homeless charities, including Cork Simon, while begging before moving on to other cities.

We are inundated on a daily basis of television footage and pictures of people sleeping in doorways and tents and no doubt there are people sleeping on the streets who can be genuinely classified as homeless, but when you read the quote below from the Examiner it is fair to ask if the problem is exaggerated:

Members of the Cork Business Association said it was clear people were coming prepared to bed down overnight in the doorways of shops on the city’s main shopping street to ensure they occupied prime begging locations the next morning.

BillyBobBS · 20-12-2017 09:51AM

Pathetic attempt to deflect from the massive and very much real homelessness crisis that FG have created.

3/10

corner of hells · 20-12-2017 09:53AM

Kivaro wrote: »

Finally we have a newspaper stating what many had known from previous experience. Quote from today's Examiner:
"People have flown in from Romania to take part in organised begging in Cork City, a senior garda has confirmed."

According to the Gardai, some of those involved in the organised begging had arrived in Ireland through Cork or Dublin airports, and then expanded out to other Irish cities.

While this act is despicable in itself, it also skews the stats of homelessness in Ireland. Those who are flown in to beg also are believed to have availed of the services of homeless charities, including Cork Simon, while begging before moving on to other cities.

We are inundated on a daily basis of television footage and pictures of people sleeping in doorways and tents and no doubt there are people sleeping on the streets who can be genuinely classified as homeless, but when you read the quote below from the Examiner it is fair to ask if the problem is exaggerated:

Members of the Cork Business Association said it was clear people were coming prepared to bed down overnight in the doorways of shops on the city’s main shopping street to ensure they occupied prime begging locations the next morning.

It doesn't really skew the stats on homelessness unless they register with the state as homeless.

hawkelady · 20-12-2017 09:55AM

BillyBobBS wrote: »

Pathetic attempt to deflect from the massive and very much real homelessness crisis that FG have created.

3/10

Are you saying the senior Garda is lying ?? If you're not, then it's not deflecting from the "crisis" , is it?? Take your ire to the numerous other threads related to it

enricoh · 20-12-2017 09:56AM

Beg during the day, free hot meals and get inundated with bags of food, cosmetics and clothes from various different charities during the night. Maybe throw in a staged car crash on the way home to airport for the 15k whiplash.

I'd say begging here is slightly more lucrative than back home!

Bob Harris · 20-12-2017 09:56AM

Hardly news. The church are at it for years. Can't go to mass without being expected to throw a few quid into the basket.

SEPT 23 1989 · 20-12-2017 10:01AM

Just another crime gang fronting as an ethnic group

20-12-2017 10:02AM

BillyBobBS wrote: »

Pathetic attempt to deflect from the massive and very much real homelessness crisis that FG have created.

3/10

I'll give you 10/10 for spewing shite.

homerjay2005 · 20-12-2017 10:03AM

BillyBobBS wrote: »

Pathetic attempt to deflect from the massive and very much real homelessness crisis that FG have created.

3/10

Whats this got to do with FG?

would you not think its down to a spike in population, a rise in economic over dependancy on places like Dublin and Cork and above all else, a lack of adequate personal responsibilities from a small minority of our population?

Victor · 20-12-2017 10:03AM

Kivaro wrote: »

Finally

You may be a bit slow on the uptake.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/roma-cash-seized-as-six-held-in-begging-crackdown-26783756.html

https://www.herald.ie/news/roma-begging-gangs-broken-up-27992042.html

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/gardai-arrest-15-suspected-of-organised-begging-in-cork-815290.html

splinter65 · 20-12-2017 10:08AM

Bob Harris wrote: »

Hardly news. The church are at it for years. Can't go to mass without being expected to throw a few quid into the basket.

It never ceases to amaze me how RCC obsessed boardsies will scan the live threads ceaselessly searching for an opportunity to post in a manner which they imagine makes them appear edgy and dangerous but in actual fact reeks of desperation.
Go on poster. Tell us how begging gangs are bad, but not as bad as the RCC.

Kermit.de.frog · 20-12-2017 10:12AM

BillyBobBS wrote: »

Pathetic attempt to deflect from the massive and very much real homelessness crisis that FG have created.

3/10

Eh, I think you'll find the roots of this problem are from the crash in 2008 overseen by Fianna Fail.

Some people have memories like goldfish.

anewme · 20-12-2017 10:12AM

From one of the Independent articles Victor above quoted.

Heading up the probe, Inspector Patrick McMenamin of Pearse Street garda station said that in one case a "barefoot beggar", well known in the Grafton Street area, was stopped en route to his native country with €1,800 in €50 notes.
"So while he may look pretty sad in Grafton Street, I can assure you that he is manipulating the people that are giving him the money," he said.

"It is known to ourselves that people will actually go in and buy him runners. He has more runners I think than the Footlocker (shop) at this stage."

Made me laugh so much. More runners than Footlocker.

Bloody scam artists,give them nothing. Are most people not copped them at this stage. Everyone I know dreads them

Ralf and Florian · 20-12-2017 10:14AM

It's blindingly obvious. I've seen a huge increase in Roma beggars around Cork City centre over the last couple of months.

c_man · 20-12-2017 10:16AM

Bob Harris wrote: »

Hardly news. The church are at it for years. Can't go to mass without being expected to throw a few quid into the basket.

There's no collection six days out of seven. And you're not obliged to give anything. And my local church back home announced last Christmas that they're no longer passing the plate due to getting a very generous donation.

But yeah, good man yourself.

mad muffin · 20-12-2017 10:18AM

There were Roma beggars outside our church last Sunday. I did a double take when I walked past. Mind you this is in a small midlands town.

whisky_galore · 20-12-2017 10:19AM

If people stopped throwing money at these people, the problem of organised begging would end in the morning.

King George VI · 20-12-2017 10:20AM

They've been in Dublin for years, why is this only being confirmed now? Remember that story of a man seeing a Romanian woman begging on O'Connell Bridge with a baby one morning? Then the next day he saw her with a different baby and when he confronted her about it, she started screaming and then her "pimp/boss/whatever" turned up in a van, started spewing abuse at the guy and took her away in a van. Not sure if that's a real story or an urban legend (someone can correct this for me if needed) but I heard it years ago. Apparently a lot of these gangs live in cramped houses in Rathmines.

Why are they only looking into this now?

anewme · 20-12-2017 10:22AM

Good point. Who is giving them money. Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave for the past 10 years, you’d know these are scammers. I dint know One person who’d give them a cent.

testtech05 · 20-12-2017 10:26AM

There was a similar case in courts in Galway a few weeks back where the "beggars" had traveled down from Dublin for a day or 2 of business, seems to be fairly widespread in the bigger towns.

punisher5112 · 20-12-2017 10:26AM

Since Romania entered the EU they flooded here and the UK.

Irish are extremely gullible and believe in a lot of cases they can save the world.

These scum that pretend to be homeless and begging are disgusting.

One thing a lot of you may not be aware of in the last few years there are more and more now have free travel as they are given psc free travel cards.

They use public transport to span out and even beg on peoples door steps.

Remember the real bad winter 2010 they were all over the city with babies out in unbelievable freezing conditions.

They are extremely aggressive in a lot of cases and very abusive.

Anyone remember the guy with crutches that couldn't walk without dragging his knee knocking on car windows he would then go around the corner and walk normal and jump into a Mercedes.

Buses pull into Parnell square in Dublin usually towing a Romania registered car and tons of them disembark.

Teyla Emmagan · 20-12-2017 10:27AM

I never give the Roma a penny I must say.

But obviously someone does.

20-12-2017 10:27AM

I could have confirmed that years ago.

They get homeless people a bad name. Very few homeless people beg in Dublin. It's mostly professional begging teams

punisher5112 · 20-12-2017 10:28AM

anewme wrote: »

Good point. Who is giving them money. Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave for the past 10 years, you’d know these are scammers. I dint know One person who’d give them a cent.

I see people giving them money a lot and they are extremely pushy especially to the elderly and are extremely good at pick pocketing and slashing bags to rob contents.

The big skirts work well in shops as the have hooks underneath to hold goods.

Don Kiddick · 20-12-2017 10:28AM

BillyBobBS wrote: »

Pathetic attempt to deflect from the massive and very much real homelessness crisis that FG have created.

3/10

FG aren't in power in Romania

LirW · 20-12-2017 10:29AM

In other countries it's pretty well documented how they operate. It's often young Romani women that have children at home that get attracted by these gangs. They are sent around in Europe, touring major cities and while the beggars get quite little of it, just as much to keep the family alive, the bosses running it are apparently making decent enough money. It goes hand in hand with human trafficking, where young girls are loaded off into the western sex industry.
They are incredibly well organized.

In my home country they usually wouldn't beg over the winter months, way too cold, but in one year suddenly a lot of crippled beggars appeared, they were begging at big traffic junctions, using walking aids.
It then came out that some families deliberately cripple their kids by tying their feet together because they'd get more money.
There are pretty strict beggar laws in place now.
It's disgusting.

punisher5112 · 20-12-2017 10:30AM

King George VI wrote: »

They've been in Dublin for years, why is this only being confirmed now? Remember that story of a man seeing a Romanian woman begging on O'Connell Bridge with a baby one morning? Then the next day he saw her with a different baby and when he confronted her about it, she started screaming and then her "pimp/boss/whatever" turned up in a van, started spewing abuse at the guy and took her away in a van. Not sure if that's a real story or an urban legend (someone can correct this for me if needed) but I heard it years ago. Apparently a lot of these gangs live in cramped houses in Rathmines.

Why are they only looking into this now?

I would well believe it.

In the city the men hang around in groups and usually receive a text and branch off where the meet with one of the girls and an exchange takes place and they depart and the man usually returns to the group.

20-12-2017 10:33AM

Don Kiddick wrote: »

FG aren't in power in Romania

Not sure what Romania has to do with it.

But this has been common knowledge; they've been followed and have been seen getting in and out of vans where they get dropped off.

anewme · 20-12-2017 10:39AM

punisher5112 wrote: »

anewme wrote: »

Good point. Who is giving them money. Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave for the past 10 years, you’d know these are scammers. I dint know One person who’d give them a cent.

The big skirts work well in shops as the have hooks underneath to hold goods.

Once saw one coming out of Dunnes having robbed a cooked chicken under the big skirt. The steam was billiwung out from under the skirt and the security man was chasing her down the mall

Beta Ray Bill · 20-12-2017 10:40AM

BillyBobBS wrote: »

Pathetic attempt to deflect from the massive and very much real homelessness crisis that FG have created.

3/10

There is no homeless crisis.

There are 3 kinds of homeless people
1: Young women in their 20's with kids and the father "isn't around"
2: People with serious drink/drug problems
3: People who have genuinely lost everything through a series of bad events <= These are the vast minority

There is no helping 1 and 2, and they are the vast majority.
They're just a bunch of people looking for free stuff off the Taxpayer

Back on Topic:

Clearly this is VERY lucrative, The Judge should have put them all in Prison for 6 months. Hopefully they wouldn't come back after that.
But instead the message is "Even if you're caught, all you'll get is a warning"

Pathetic, we need more Prisons.

TheQuietFella · 20-12-2017 10:40AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Not sure what Romania has to do with it.

But this has been common knowledge; they've been followed and have been seen getting in and out of vans where they get dropped off.

Group living in Phibs' regularly begging in the city centre!

Gardai confirm organised begging

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