Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 May 2026
18. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will confirm the number of reported suspected drink-spiking cases throughout the country; the number that were investigated; the number that were brought before the courts; the number that were convicted in the past five years, by year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35795/26]
View answerSpiking is a crime that preys on vulnerability, that undermines consent and that can have devastating consequences for victims. As Minister I am committed to fostering a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence (DSGBV).
The Programme for Government includes a commitment to introduce stronger laws to combat the spiking of drinks.
Spiking a person’s drink or spiking someone by injection are, in effect, poisoning, and are criminal offences under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, that can result in a three-year prison term.
Depending on the nature of the substance that is administered, it may be possible to charge a perpetrator with endangerment under section 13 of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997. This provides that it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly engage in conduct which creates a substantial risk of death or serious harm to another. The offence of endangerment carries a maximum penalty of 7 years imprisonment.
An Garda Síochána takes all reports of spiking seriously and thoroughly investigates to determine the exact nature of each incident including results of toxicology reports in each case. I would advise any victims of similar incidents or any form of spiking to come forward and report to local Gardaí.
According to published data from An Garda Síochána, the count of incidents reported was 107 in 2022 and 52 in 2023. The total for 2024 was 61 reported incidents, with 58 reported incidents last year, each of which was investigated.
I’m informed by the Courts Service that there is no specific offence on the statute book for spiking. As a result, there is no offence code on their case management systems which they could use to run a report, and therefore there is no data available in relation to spiking.
All victims of crime are dealt with by Gardaí in line with: www.garda.ie/en/victim-services/garda-victim-service/victims-charter.pdf
