Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 January 2026
476. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of offences aggravated under section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024 have been recorded in proceedings as per section 8(4) of the Act, to outline which protected characteristic or characteristics were recorded in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3311/26]
View answerThe Government is determined to stamp out hate-motivated crime and protect vulnerable communities. Everyone has the right to live safely, free from intimidation or abuse regardless of background. The introduction of the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024 strengthens the law by ensuring perpetrators face tougher penalties where hatred is proven to be a motivating factor, or where hatred is demonstrated based on the identity of the victim.
An Garda Síochána takes hate crime very seriously. Every hate crime reported to An Garda Síochána is professionally investigated, and victims are supported during the criminal justice process. I am informed by An Garda Síochána that 40 proceedings (charge/summons) have been initiated since 1 January 2025 which referenced an offence contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, aggravated by hatred as inserted by the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024.
I am further informed that the protected characteristics in question require manual review of free text narratives to discern. Moreover, multiple protected characteristics can be specified on a single charge/summons or not at all. The most prominent of these was ‘Race’ which was referenced on 18 occasions. Other protected characteristics were referenced fewer than 10 times each, which is below An Garda Síochána’s reporting threshold.
The management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the Judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and the Constitution. The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas at: oireachtasenquiries@courts.ie.
However, to be of assistance to the Deputy I have sought information from the Courts Service. I am informed by the Courts Service that section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024 provides that a Court shall without prejudice to any other enactment or rule of law and subject to subsections (2) and (3), treat as an aggravating factor hatred against a person or a group of persons on account of their protected characteristics or any of those characteristics on the part of a person in the commission of an offence to which the section applies for the purposes of determining the sentence to be imposed on the person for that offence.
I’m further informed that while the judge must have regard to this in sentencing, this is not recorded on the Courts Service case management systems. Hence, the Courts Service have advised that it is not possible to run a report on instances when this has been considered, or what characteristics /protected characteristics of the person/group of persons concerned relevant to the offence.
