Belong To – LGBTQ+ Youth Ireland Statement on Increase in Recorded Hate Crimes 

Belong To – LGBTQ+ Youth Ireland calls on government parties to recommit to passing hate crime legislation as a matter of urgency, following the publication of new figures which show that recorded hate crimes have increased for the second year in a row.  

These statistics, published today by An Garda Síochána, show that there has been a 12% increase in the number of reported hate crimes and hate-related incidents. Sexual orientation has remained one of the most commonly recorded forms of targeting over the past three years. 

Hate crimes are message crimes – a single act can cause a ripple of fear throughout the victim’s community.  

Research published by Trinity College Dublin and Belong To, Being LGBTQI+ in Ireland,¹ gives important context to these figures. 

The report finds that 45% of LGBTQI+ people in Ireland feel unsafe holding hands with a same-sex partner in public, and over half of trans and non-binary people feel unsafe expressing their gender identity in public.  

The research further found that 1 in 4 members of Ireland’s LGBTQI+ community have been punched, hit or physically attacked due to being LGBTQI+, and 72% experienced verbal abuse due to being LGBTQI+.  

To protect our communities, we call on public representatives to enact the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill, accompanied by comprehensive actions to tackle the root causes of hate. 

1. Higgins A; Downes C; O’Sullivan K; de Vries J; Molloy R; Monahan M; Keogh B; Doyle L; Begley T; Corcoran P; (2024) The National Study on the Mental Health and Wellbeing of the LGBTQI+ Communities in Ireland. Dublin: Belong To