A total of 676 hate crimes and hate-related incidents were recorded in Ireland in 2024, according to new figures published by An Garda Síochána on Tuesday, April 29. These numbers show a 4% increase compared to 2023.

According to the new figures, 592 hate crimes were reported to Gardaí in 2024, compared to the 548 in 2023. Moreover, the force recorded 84 hate-related (non-crime) incidents in 2024, a decrease from 103 in the previous year.

Like last year, race was the most prevalent discriminatory motive, with nationality being the closest second. Hate crimes and hate-related incidents based on the grounds of sexual orientation decreased compared to the previous year, going from 109 in 2023 to 70 in 2024.

Hate motives were recorded in a variety of reported crime types, including public order (31%), minor assaults (22%), criminal damage not by fire (16%), and assault causing harm (7%). Gardaí noted that “murder threats to kill or cause serious harm” were higher in 2024 compared to the previous year and accounted for 5% of all hate crime incidents.

Under half of all hate-related crimes and incidents that happened in Ireland in 2024 took place in the Dublin region, whereas 18% were in the eastern garda district, 17% in the southern region and 16% in the north-western division.

Moreover, prison sentences for certain crimes motivated by hate increased in 2024. Last year saw the long-awaited Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Bill 2022 pass all stages of the Oireachtas and be signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins. Prior to that, Ireland was “one of the few remaining EU countries not to have specific hate crime offences set out in law”, as former Justice Minister Helen McEntee said.

Publishing the 2024 figures on hate crimes and hate-related incidents in Ireland, An Garda Síochána stated that it “continues in its efforts to strengthen its network of diversity officers to support victims and those affected by hate discrimination in communities around Ireland”.

Currently, 500 diversity officers across the country “engage with minority communities and individuals on a daily basis to provide them with reassurance and address issues of concern for them”, the statement continued.

Chief Superintendent for Community Engagement Padraic Jones commented: “While these figures do indicate a further increase in the number of people that come forward … and report an incident of crime which was motivated by hate, we recognise that hate-related crime is still under-reported in Ireland.

“When a person or group is targeted because of a fundamental characteristic, it is a stain on all of society,” Jones continued. “Together we must continue to reject hate and discrimination and consistently remind one another that everyone has a right to live safely and free from prejudice. Incidents of this nature are not and never will be acceptable.”

Chief Superintendent Jones encouraged anyone who “has experienced an incident of crime which has been motivated by hate” to report their experience, saying that gardaí will support them “in any way that we can”.