Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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164. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which hate speech, hate crime and racism continue to be addressed in all areas throughout the country without exception; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44443/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Government is fully committed to the fight against racism, prejudice and bigotry, and strongly condemns the actions of those who abuse and attack others because of their own prejudices against a person’s religion, ethnic origins, sexual orientation or any other part of their identity as a human being. Ireland is a diverse and tolerant country, and such behaviour is not acceptable.

It is currently an offence under the Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 to speak, publish, display or broadcast threatening, abusive or insulting material, where that material is intended or likely to stir up hatred against a person(s) on the basis of a protected characteristic. It is also an offence to prepare or possess such material with a view to its publication, broadcast or display.

The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 will update the existing offences to include incitement to violence as well as incitement to hatred and it will create new hate crime offences for the first time in Ireland.

Under the Bill, it will be an offence to incite violence, in addition to hatred, towards individuals and groups based on a list of protected characteristics, which include a person’s race, colour, nationality, national or ethnic origin and their descent.

The Bill also creates new hate offences as aggravated forms of existing offences, for example: “assault aggravated by hatred”. This will allow a court to impose a sentence that recognises the hate component of an offence where it is motivated by hatred or where hatred is demonstrated during the commission of the offence.

Other elements of the existing Act are retained, including the offence of preparing and possessing material likely to stir up hatred and powers of search, arrest and forfeiture necessary for the investigation of the offence.

In addition to my work on this legislation, my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth earlier this year fulfilled the Government commitment to publish a National Action Plan against Racism.

Other actions to tackle racism, prejudice and intolerance in the Programme for Government include the Migrant Integration Strategy and the National LGBTI+ Strategy.

Work also continues on Supporting a Victim's Journey', the detailed plan to implement the recommendations of the O'Malley Review so as to introduce important reforms to support and protect vulnerable victims and make our criminal justice system more victim-centred.

I would encourage anyone who has been a victim or has witnessed any hate motivated crime to report it to An Garda Síochána for investigation.

An Garda Síochána takes hate crime seriously and is strongly committed to engaging proactively and respectfully with all members of society, and, in particular, persons from minority groups and diverse backgrounds.

The Garda National Diversity and Integration Unit monitor all incidents recorded on Pulse that have a discriminatory motive attached to them. They advise, support and assist investigating Gardaí across the country who are investigating incidents which may have a discriminatory motive attached.

There are now over 480 specially-trained Garda Diversity Officers (GDOs) across every Garda division. Their role is to liaise with representatives of the various minority/diverse communities in their division, establish communication links, inform and assure these communities of Garda services and provide support to victims of hate crime.

Since 1st April 2022 it is also mandatory for all Garda Personnel, of all ranks and grades, to complete online Hate Crime training which includes a full section devoted to bias motivations.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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165. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the efforts currently being made to discourage young people from becoming involved in a life of crime including drugs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44444/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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At the outset I would like to assure the Deputy that tackling drug dealing and associated criminal activity, including by organised crime groups, is a top priority for An Garda Síochána and this Government.

The Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 was passed in July of this year. These new laws will ensure that An Garda Síochána and our Courts have the tools they need to take firm and decisive action to deal with our most serious criminals.

In relation to the use of children by criminal gangs to deal drugs, the Criminal Justice (Exploitation of Children in the Commission of Offences) Bill was initiated in the Dáil in January of this year.

In addition to the new legislation, the Greentown approach to assisting children who are drawn into criminal networks, based on the 'Lifting the Lid on Greentown' report produced by my Department in partnership with the University of Limerick, is currently being operated in two locations and is having a positive impact on helping those children and their families break away from the criminal gangs who are exploiting them.

Part 4 of the Children Act 2001 (as amended) provides the statutory basis for the Garda Youth Diversion Programme (GYDP). The intention of the programme is to divert children and young people who have engaged in criminal or anti-social behaviour away from the criminal justice system and towards more positive life choices. Children who commit criminal offences are considered for admission to the Programme. Each case is assessed individually and the Director of the GYDP, who is a Garda Superintendent, decides if the case is suitable for inclusion.

Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) are a fundamental support to the operation of the statutory Garda Diversion Programme. There are currently over 100 YDPs nationwide, with a small number of additional projects due to come on stream this year to meet the commitment in the Youth Justice Strategy to extend this service to every child or young person in the State who can benefit from it.

Youth Diversion Projects are co-funded by the Irish Government and European Social Fund as part of the ESF+ Programme 2021-2027.

An Garda Síochána continues to target those involved in the sale and supply of illegal drugs through Operation Tara, which has a strong focus on tackling street-level dealing across the country. Operation Tara also focuses on disrupting and dismantling the drug trafficking networks that impact on our communities and prosecuting those involved at every level.

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) has had significant, sustained success in disrupting the supply of illicit drugs by organised crime groups with over €235 million worth of drugs seized in the period 2016 – 2021, as well as several substantial seizures in recent times. The most notable of these has been the record seizure off the south coast as part of a joint agency operation with the Defence Forces, Coast Guard and international partners.

The record budgetary resources allocated to An Garda Síochána in recent years have enabled the Garda Commissioner to assign extra resources to the specialist units involved in tackling organised crime, including the Armed Support Unit, GNDOCB, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has also seen an increase in funding in recent years, with the Community Safety Innovation Fund (CSIF) reinvesting the proceeds of crime into communities, reflecting the success of CAB and An Garda Síochána. I am delighted that the CSIF has increased again this year to €3.75 million under Budget 2024.

An Garda Síochána uses multi-disciplinary approaches to ensure the activities of individuals and groups involved in criminal enterprise are effectively targeted. Such approaches include the use of money-laundering legislation and the powers available to CAB under the proceeds of crime legislation.

Other measures taken to tackle organised crime include the strengthening of legislation where required and the establishment of Garda Armed Response Units in all Garda regions which are available to support all divisions countrywide.