A new survey has found that just over half of small businesses in Ireland were victims of crime on at least one occasion in the past year.
The Small Firms Association, which conducted the survey, said that more resources were needed to ensure the courts could deal with the cases in a swift manner.
According to the SFA survey, 51% of small businesses were victims of crime at least once in the past year - an 11% increase on the previous year.
The average cost per incident was around €2,800 and the most frequent crimes committed were criminal damage and the theft of property, stock and cash.
The survey also found that small firms were increasingly subjected to a range of online crimes including internet scams, identity fraud, phishing and data theft.
The Director of the Small Firms Association, Patricia Callan, said small business was spending billions of euro on security provision and urged the Government to change its approach to business crime.
Ms Callan called for more resources for the courts and the rigourous application of current laws against all forms of crime.
