A Growing Pattern of Hatred: What Ireland’s 2025 Hate Crime Figures Tell Us
The latest figures released by An Garda Síochána reveal that hate-motivated hostility in Ireland is reaching historic levels. With 2025 marking the highest annual total since standardised recording began in 2021, the data underscores a critical turning point for policy, community safety, and victim support.
The Figures
In 2025, law enforcement recorded 780 hate crimes and hate-related incidents. While this is an official record, the true figure is likely far higher.
Hate crimes are notoriously under-reported globally and locally due to fear of retaliation, language barriers, uncertainty around reporting processes, or lack of trust in systemic outcomes.
Racism Remains the Primary Motive
The overwhelming majority of hate-motivated incidents in Ireland target race, ethnicity, and background.
- 84% of all reported incidents in 2025 were motivated by factors related to ethnicity, nationality, religion, or skin color.
- Racial hatred continues to form the single largest category of hate-related behavior recorded by authorities.
The Gap in Support: Policy vs. Reality
In 2023, Ireland published its National Action Plan Against Racism (NAPAR). Under Priority Action 1.6, the government explicitly committed to:
"Develop and strengthen mechanisms to address harms caused to individuals by racist actions."
— NAPAR (Target Completion: 2024)
Despite these policy commitments, substantial support gaps remain for victims of racism across the country. With hate crime reports reaching an all-time high, the demand for specialised and dedicated victim support services has never been more urgent.
Our Statement
“As a frontline organisation, we receive the news about the 15% growth in hate crime and hate-related incidents with sadness but without surprise. This is a pattern that we have been observing for years, and from anecdotal evidence, we also know that hate crime goes largely underreported.
What is particularly worrying is that 84% of the incidents and crimes recorded by An Garda Síochána relate to either race, nationality, religion or skin colour. We can no longer deny that anti-migrant hostility present in public statements and media reporting plays a role in the increase in anti-migrant attacks and harassment.
Racism and other hate-related incidents are message crimes, meaning that all members of the victim's community feel under threat as they anticipate being the next victims of hate crime.
Nobody should be living a life full of anxiety, anticipating an attack because of who they were born.
As much as there is investment in community-based initiatives supporting intercultural dialogue and connection, what is missing is support for victims. The Immigrant Council used to deliver an information and referral service for victims of racism. Due to financial constraints, the service was closed down, leaving a gap in support. Victims of racism are suffering in silence, unable to access information on how to report racism and needing support to help them overcome the trauma.
We are calling for investment in specialised racism victim-support services so that anyone who is targeted by racist crimes is not isolated when they need support the most”
How to Report and Where to Get Support
If you experience or witness a hate crime or hate-related incident in Ireland, multiple reporting channels are available. You do not need Irish citizenship or legal immigration status to report an incident—everyone has the right to safety and to be taken seriously.
1. Official Law Enforcement Channels
- In an Emergency: Call 999 or 112 immediately if you or someone else is in danger.
- Online Reporting: Submit a report via the An Garda Síochána Online Hate Crime Reporting Portal.
- In Person or Phone: Visit any local Garda station or call the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111.
2. Independent Tracking & Community Support
- INAR (iReport.ie): Log incidents through the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR) platform at iReport.ie. This system tracks ongoing patterns and subtle forms of hostility, including incidents that may not meet the formal legal threshold for criminal prosecution.