Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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651. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to list all written or oral representations made to the Government by or on behalf of the European Commission from 1 January 2025 to date calling on the State to adopt so-called "hate-speech" legislation; to summarise the contents of those representations and any responses which were issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65588/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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This Government is determined to stamp out hate-motivated crimes and we are determined to protect vulnerable communities. Ireland was at the forefront of tackling incitement to hatred through the introduction of legislation, namely the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act, in 1989. It is an offence to incite hatred based on a person’s race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origins, membership of the travelling community or sexual orientation.

The information sought by the Deputy, regarding written or oral representations made to the Government by the European Commission in the context of the transposition of Council Framework Decision of 28 November 2008 on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law, is outlined below.

On 7 May 2025 the European Commission issued a written Reasoned Opinion outlining the provisions of the Framework Decision that in their opinion Ireland had not adequately transposed. The Reasoned Opinion focused specifically on certain elements of Articles 1, 4, 8 and 9 relating, among other things, to criminalising public incitement to violence against a group or a member of such group based on certain characteristics, as well as condoning or denying international humanitarian law crimes such as genocide or crimes against humanity.

On 8 May 2025, an online meeting took place between officials of the European Commission and my officials to discuss the Reasoned Opinion. It provided an opportunity for the European Commission to elaborate on the legal arguments supporting the view that Ireland had not adequately transposed the Framework Decision.

On 14 October 2025, my Department and European Commission officials participated in an online discussion regarding Ireland’s response to the Reasoned Opinion, which issued to the Commission on 8 July. Ireland’s response to the Reasoned Opinion expressed reservations with regard to the Commission's analysis of the perceived shortcomings of the current Irish implementation, in particular, that sufficient weight has not been given to Ireland’s position that the provisions in the Framework are effectively transposed by existing Irish constitutional, statute and common law.

In this context, officials of the European Commission thanked the Department for the additional information and relevant Irish legal provisions, provided in the response to the Reasoned Opinion in support of the position that Ireland has indeed fully transposed all elements of the Directive, and indicated they are currently considering the response.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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652. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to state the number of Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 30 who have applied for temporary protection in Ireland in each month from January 2025 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65597/25]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection hold temporary permission to remain in Ireland, renewable annually for as long as the Directive remains in force.

On 15 July 2025, the Justice and Home Affairs Council extended Temporary Protection by a year until March 2027, providing certainty for beneficiaries who can continue to avail of the protections that the Directive provides.

Under Article 2, the Temporary Protection Directive applies to the following groups of people who have had to flee Ukraine due to the invasion by Russia:

a) Ukrainian nationals who were residing in Ukraine before 24 February 2022;

b) Nationals of a third country (other than Ukraine) or a stateless person who would have benefited from international protection (for example: Refugee status) or an equivalent national protection status in Ukraine and were residing there before 24 February 2022;

c) Family members of persons covered by a) and b), where their family already existed in Ukraine, prior to 24 February.

In common with most other European countries, Ireland seen an increase in arrivals from Ukraine in recent months. One of the factors contributing to this rise appears to be changes in Ukrainian law which now permit men aged 18 to 22 to leave Ukraine. The highest number of temporary protection beneficiaries in Ireland continues to be women and children.

My Department continues to work with relevant authorities across the EU to monitor trends.

The number of Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 30 years who have applied for temporary protection in Ireland in each month from January 2025 to date is as follows:

Please note all figures are correct at time of issue and may be subject to data cleansing.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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653. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to state the total number of prosecutions taken, and the total number of convictions secured, for alleged breaches of Section 137 of the Electoral Act 1992 since its commencement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65598/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Prosecutions are a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions, who is fully independent in her functions. As Minister, I have no role in the operations, functions, governance or oversight of the Office of the DPP and, as a result, I am unable to provide any information or statistics relating to the Director's work.

The management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and the Constitution. However, to be of assistance to the Deputy I have sought the requested information from the Courts Service but am advised that there is no specific offence code for alleged breeches of Section 137 of the Electoral Act 1992, nor any offence codes under the Electoral Act. As a result, it is not possible to collate data on the number of prosecutions and convictions in this instance.