by Louise Doyle
THE North Western garda region, which includes Donegal, saw 21 per cent of reported hate crimes and hate-related incidents last year.
An Garda Síochána said some 651 hate crimes and hate-related (non-crime) incidents were recorded in 2023, up from 582 (21 per cent) in 2022.
These include 548 hate crimes and 103 hate-related incidents, up from 510 and 72 respectively in 2022.
The largest proportion (44 per cent) of hate-related incidents occurred in the Dublin Metropolitan Region, followed by the North Western Region (21 per cent), then Southern Region (19 per cent) and Eastern Region (16 per cent).
An Garda Síochána has provided a number of case studies from North Western region.
These include that a couple walking through a town in the North Western Region were subjected to racial abuse by a male in his 30s.
He was arrested and later convicted at a District Court where he received a €350 fine.
In another incident, a woman in the North Western Region reported being verbally abused by another female in relation to her clothing.
Gardaí identified the woman, aged in her 70s, and she received an adult caution.
The most commonly recorded motive was anti-race (36 per cent), followed by anti-nationality (18 per cent) and anti-sexual orientation (16 per cent).
Gardai said these three motives have been the most common in the past three years, however, anti-nationality overtook anti-sexual orientation to become the second most prevalent motive in 2023.
Public order accounted for the largest percentage of recorded hate and hate-related crimes (27 per cent), followed by minor assaults (16 per cent).
Criminal damage not by fire accounted for nine per cent, and criminal damage by fire three per cent.
Welcoming the publication of the 2023 statistics, Chief Superintendent, Community Engagement, Padraic Jones said the figures “indicate a further increase in the reporting of hate crime in Ireland during 2023”.
“In one sense it is positive that victims are coming forward and speaking with An Garda Síochána about their experience of a crime motivated by hate, but it is disappointing that incidents of this nature occur at all.
“Being targeted because of a characteristic has an enormous and often life-altering impact on a victim, and as a society we must continue to reject hate and discrimination. Everyone has a right to live safely.”
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