Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 November 2018
152. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of crimes carried out against persons with disabilities; if such information is compiled and held; if An Garda Síochána has evidence or is of the view that these crimes were committed against these vulnerable persons due to their having a disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48508/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the compilation and publication of all crime statistics. However, it is my understanding that the CSO are not currently producing statistics on crimes with a discriminatory motive.
As outlined in the Policing Plan for 2018, work is well underway within An Garda Síochána on the development of a definition of, and procedures to record, hate crimes. Once this definition is agreed, An Garda Síochána will be running a nationwide campaign to encourage the reporting of hate crimes to An Garda Síochána.
Improvements were made to the Garda PULSE system (PULSE release 6.8) in 2015 and, among the enhancements included in this release, was the introduction of a Victim Assessment Screen. This requires the mandatory recording of data relating to the apparent motive for a crime incident, such as whether it has been motivated by discrimination on specific grounds including age, disability, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
The Garda Racial Intercultural and Diversity Office (GRIDO) has responsibility for coordinating, monitoring and advising on all aspects of policing Ireland's diverse communities. Ethnic and LGBT liaison officers in each Division also play a fundamental role in liaising with minority groups and work in partnership to encourage respect and understanding within communities and to help prevent hate and racist crime. Both the Garda Racial Intercultural and Diversity Office and Liaison Officers provide advice and assistance to victims of hate or racist crime where required or deemed necessary.
