More than 38,000 crimes committed by people on bail last year, figures show

Advocacy groups and politicians warn repeated reoffending on bail highlights deep flaws in enforcement, court delays, and resourcing

Tue, 10 Feb, 2026 - 06:00

Louise Burne

More than 38,000 crimes were committed last year by people out on bail, including 84 linked to murder, attempted murder, or murder threats.

AdVic, the advocate group for victims of homicide, told the Irish Examiner that the high number of people reoffending on bail is “eroding the trust of law-abiding citizens in our justice system”.

While more than 22,000 of these crimes were committed by people in the Dublin region, nearly 2,500 were recorded in Cork City and county.

Sinn Féin’s justice spokesman Matt Carthy, who obtained the figures from justice minister Jim O’Callaghan, stated that they were “not surprising” due to “massive dysfunction”.

The figures confirmed that up to December 16 last year, some 38,221 criminal incidents were carried out by people on bail in 2025.

84 incidents related to homicide

The most common offence carried out by those on bail was theft, with 10,104 incidents recorded. This was followed by 9,789 public order offences, 5,377 court or bail-related offences, and 3,582 incidents related to drugs.

There were 84 incidents committed on bail in 205 that related to “homicide”.

Mr O’Callaghan confirmed that, on the Garda Pulse system, incident types within the homicide category include manslaughter, murder, attempted murder, threats to kill or cause serious harm, and threats to persons.

'Eroding trust' in justice system

A spokesperson for AdVic described the overall figures as “deeply concerning”, saying there was a “clear rising trend” that was “most troubling”. They said:

This is unacceptable and is eroding the trust of law-abiding citizens in our justice system.

“While we do recognise that this is a complex issue, and that there are significant resource constraints, the current system of monitoring and enforcement is clearly not working.

“We firmly support calls for a review of bail laws, particularly in cases involving serious crime and repeat offenders.”

Some 1,514 incidents were categorised as “domestic”, while 1,232 assaults and 56 sexual offences were recorded. Another 2,198 traffic-related incidents were also linked to people out on bail, while there were a separate 548 cases of people driving under the influence.

There were also 1,440 cases of criminal damage, 941 burglary incidents, 213 robberies, and 819 firearm offences.

Regional breakdown

Some 58% of crimes committed by those on bail occurred in Dublin, with 22,130 of the 38,221 incidents happening in the capital.

There were 5,277 incidents recorded in the southern region, with 1,852 in Cork City, 589 in Cork county, and 1,229 in Limerick.

The data was released to Sinn Féin justice spokesman Matt Carthy, who said 'it is not surprising that there is a serious problem with crimes being committed by those on bail' due to ‘massive dysfunction’ in the system. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins

The Dáil heard last year that 114,655 crimes were carried out by people on bail between 2022 and 2024. This included 40,348 crimes in 2014.

While the numbers are slightly down over the last 12 months, Mr Carthy told the Irish Examiner that not enough has been done to address the problem.

'Garda resources and court delays'

“Little or nothing has been done to address this in the last year,” he said. “We still have massive dysfunction in our justice system.

“With court cases taking more than three times the European average, criminal cases taking an average of 503 days, prisons chronically overcrowded, and too few gardaí to keep communities safe and to crack down on crime and antisocial behaviour, it is not surprising that there is a serious problem with crimes being committed by those on bail.”

Gardaí need to have the resources and the personnel in the first place to ensure bail conditions are not being flouted, “as is now routinely the case”, Mr Carthy said.

The delays in our courts also need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Mr O’Callaghan said a review of bail laws conducted by Lorcan Staines SC was published in November 2025.

Mr O’Callaghan stated this had underlined “the need for additional actions to be taken to ensure the criminal justice system effectively mitigates against risks that may be associated with individuals on bail”.

“A number of the recommendations are under active consideration or in progress by my department,” said Mr O’Callaghan.

“It is proposed that a further memorandum for the Government will be brought on any further implementation of the recommendations in due course.”