New statistics released by An Garda Siochana show that Donegal had the fourth-most reported hate crimes of any county in the state last year.
A total of 15 hate crimes were reported to Gardaí here – that’s only behind areas in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
Donegal’s total makes up 3.3 percent of the 448 hate crimes in total reported to Gardaí in 2021 – but no data was provided on the types of hate crime most prevalent in the county.
Dublin’s Garda divisions combined had the largest total, with 226 hate crimes being recorded across County Dublin as a whole.
According to An Garda Síochána, an investigation into a hate crime occurs “…where it is perceived that the perpetrator’s hostility or prejudice against any person, community or institution is on the grounds of the victim’s age, disability, race, colour, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender”.
Full table of 2021 An Garda Síochana hate crime statistics: