Data on the number of prosecuted or sentenced hate crimes are not available for the 2024 reporting period owing to the absence of hate crime legislation on the basis of which hate crimes could be monitored within the criminal justice system and judiciary.
The numbers below include offences that fall outside the OSCE hate crime definition. The numbers indicate bias motives recorded, and a single incident may have more than one bias motive.
In 2024, Ireland continued implementing the country's National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy (2024–2028), which aims to ensure appropriate support to LGBTI+ victims of crime. The Strategy requires An Garda Síochána and the criminal justice system to respond proactively and effectively to ensure the safety of LGBTIQ+ people, and to put in place enforcement mechanisms to challenge occurrences of hate crime.
In parallel, the National Action Plan against Racism (2023-2027) was developed in collaboration with stakeholders, leading minority ethnic representative organizations, and academic experts. One of the objectives of the plan is to enable third-party and online reporting of racist incidents among all public services. An Garda Síochána has both these mechanisms in place to facilitate the reporting of hate crime.
In 2024, Ireland also launched its National Traveller Roma and Integration Strategy (2024-2028), a key goal of which is to tackle racism and discrimination. Members of the Roma and Traveller communities contributed to the Strategy's objectives and commitments, including that members of the Traveller and Roma communities will be supported in reporting racist crimes. At a National level, An Garda Síochána engages with the Garda Traveller and Roma Advisory Group to improve community support and access to Justice. Garda Diversity Officers engage with Traveller and Roma representative groups in local communities.
During 2024, the Garda Traveller and Roma Advisory Group (GTRAG) continued to meet to enhance engagement and build trust in order to facilitate the reporting of hate crime. The group examined policing practices for An Garda Síochána and advised on the policing needs of the Traveller Community.
Finally, in 2024 'Local Dialogue Days' with the Traveller community were held nationwide, bringing together representatives from both national and local Traveller groups and members of An Garda Síochána. They discussed issues affecting the Traveller community, including hate crimes.
Notable cases:
In August 2024, Gardaí responded to reports of an aggressive man threatening and racially abusing staff at a supermarket in Dublin City. The man had assaulted a member of staff while exiting the premises and damaged a store display. The man was convicted and sentenced to two months' imprisonment.
In May 2024, a man racially abused a taxi driver after the latter asked him to pay his fair for an earlier ride. After leaving the taxi, the perpetrator threw a can at the car as it drove off. The man was later charged and sentenced to two months in prison.
This category includes hate crimes motivated by bias based on "race" (289), colour (57), nationality (182), and ethnicity (59).
This category includes hate crimes motivated by bias based on religion.
This category also includes crimes based on bias against gender identity, including transphobic crimes.
This category includes hate crimes motivated by bias based on sexual orientation.
This category includes hate crimes motivated by bias based on disability and age.
ODIHR recognizes Ireland's efforts to establish a legal framework that addresses bias motivations and ensures appropriate penalties for perpetrators for hate crime offences. However, based on the available information, it observes that Ireland has not reported data on hate crimes recorded by the prosecution or judiciary to ODIHR. In addition, ODIHR observes that Ireland would benefit from building the capacity of criminal justice officials to address hate crimes.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States committed to collecting reliable data and statistics in sufficient detail on hate crimes and to reporting such information periodically to ODIHR. Participating States also committed to enacting specific, tailored legislation to combat hate crimes, providing for effective penalties that take into account the gravity of such crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Ireland in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of its comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as by providing further legislative guidance and advice.
For 2024, ODIHR received reports of hate incidents in Ireland from the following civil society organizations:
- The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC)
- International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF)
- Centre for Peace Studies (CMS)
To learn more about these organizations, visit the Contributors page.
In addition, one incident was recorded as part of ODIHR’s ongoing monitoring across the OSCE region.
All incidents submitted by the above organizations have been analysed by ODIHR. Those that are broadly considered to be hate crimes within the OSCE definition (criminal offence committed with a bias motive) are listed in the tables below according to the bias motivation category. Some incidents involved multiple biases and may be listed in multiple categories.
ODIHR’s insightsFor 2024, ODIHR received reports of ten hate incidents that took place in Ireland in the following bias motivation categories: anti-Christian, anti-Muslim, and racist and xenophobic. ODIHR observes that the anti-Christian incidents reported included several incidents of attempted arson and several cases of vandalism targeting churches. One incident involved the stabbing of an army chaplain by a young boy linked to an organized hate group. The anti-Muslim and racist incidents reported involved serious physical assaults. In one xenophobic incident two men were seriously beaten for speaking their national language, resulting in the death of one victim; one of the attackers was known for his far-right ties and extremist views on immigration. It should be noted that ODIHR received a low number of reports on racist and xenophobic incidents and did not receive any reporting on anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTI, gender-based or disability hate incidents in Ireland. This indicates potential gaps in the information reported here. |
Please note that incidents reported here are based on voluntary civil society submissions and as such might not reflect the actual number of incidents or the most targeted communities in Ireland.
To address under-reporting, ODIHR encourages any civil society organizations or groups that monitor hate incidents in Ireland to report these to ODIHR at hatecrimereport@odihr.pl.
To export an Excel sheet with summaries of all incidents from Ireland click here and search by year and country.