Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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1517. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the action he will take to increase initiatives to promote integration and combat racism to address the growing number of racially motivated physical and verbal assaults on minority communities across the State. [45150/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I strongly condemns all forms of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and intolerance and I am determined to tackle hate-motivated crimes and protect vulnerable communities.

Legislation for tougher sentences for crimes motivated by hate was introduced by the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024 last year. This legislation seeks to protect people targeted because of certain identity characteristics, namely - race; colour; nationality; religion; national or ethnic origin; descent; disability; gender; sex characteristics and sexual orientation.

Ireland’s media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, will continue to monitor hateful content online through its Trusted Flagger programme. An accredited Trusted Flaggers’ role is to flag illegal content to online platforms (including flags related to incitement to hatred or violence).

Ireland’s National Action Plan Against Racism (NAPAR) (www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/national-action-plan-against-racism/) represents a national level, State-led, co-ordinated approach to eliminating racism in all its forms in Ireland. Its actions are designed to have a significant positive impact on all communities and faith-based groups in Ireland.

The Department also administers a series of funds to support anti-racism and integration initiatives around the country.

The Ireland Against Racism Fund, which is a key part of the NAPAR, enables non-government and community organisations to provide projects and local initiatives that combat racism and promote racial equality. To date, 57 projects have received funding amounting to €2.4 million under the scheme to date.

The Integration Fund supports organisations to carry out integration projects at a national, regional or local level. Organisations eligible to apply include local community groups, charities, faith-based groups, formal and informal schools and cultural organisations. The Fund combines two previously run funds – the International Protection Integration Fund (IPIF) and the Communities Integration Fund (CIF). Since their inception, both funds have provided close to €10m in funding to over 1,000 projects across the country.

The Programme for Government 2025 provides a commitment to developing a new Migration and Integration Strategy for Ireland, detailing how we intend to meet the demands and the opportunities facing our society and economy over the next decade. The National Migration and Integration Strategy is being developed across Government and is planned to be published in 2026.