The Justice System in Republic of Ireland is a farce. It could be described as a black comedy; with features of wild west lawlessness, transvestite inmates and gowned theatrics.

It’s a broken system of winners and losers; the winners being the criminal offenders and the losers – the taxpayers that fund it.

Nobody except for criminal offenders believes it to be a good system. Nobody has much faith in it. It is in need of radical reform, and has been for some time, but it is unlikely to change for the better because there is almost no political acknowledgement of just how far wrong it’s really gone. For the most part it looks like there is nothing being done to fix the problems of Ireland’s broken justice system.

So what are the problems with Ireland’s justice system; where is it all going wrong? It’s not hard to see the probelms with it, all one needs to do is start by walking the streets of Dublin in broad daylight, taking note of what the eyes can see.

On a fairly average day in Dublin City it is not surprising to cross paths with hooded youngsters that roam the streets yielding boltcutters; cutting away at bike locks and cycling off through unfazed crowds of passersby.

Motorbike theft is also part of the fabric. Every motorbike owner in Dublin expects their vehicle to be stolen, and insurance prices reflect this. Almost 50% of motorbikes bought in Dublin end up stolen. ( https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2024/1219/1487271-like-mad-max-joyriders-bringing-danger-and-fear-to-dublin/ ). That’s an eye-watering statistic.

Open drug use, drug dealing and intoxication is rife in Dublin City. It has been a problem for years – perhaps decades – and according to many people it seems to have gotten worse since Covid.

Heroin addicts with their “howayih” mannerisms have always been a part of Dublin culture. More recently crack addicts and crack dealers have become an issue.

Violent assaults seem to happen every week in Temple Bar, despite it being the busiest tourist area in the whole country. Not a week goes by when you don’t hear of someone getting attacked in Temple Bar. Victims come from all walks of life; police officers, tourists, American Football players and random bystanders. Civilised people are afraid to go near Dublin City Centre at night time because they genuinely fear that they might be violently assaulted ( https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/american-football-star-jumped-and-robbed-in-temple-bar-while-in-dublin-for-nfl-game/a2128271114.html ).

The antisocial element of Ireland’s open-use drug culture has been a frustrating problem for local business owners, with reports of crack consumption on the doorstep of busy cafes, and thefts and robberies an all too common daily occurance ( https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2025/0921/1534507-retail-crime-strategy/ ).

With such frequent antisocial behaviour one might be inclined to ask “where are the guards (Irish police) when all this is happening, and what are they doing to stop it?”

Some Irish civilians would have you believe that the guards are out there but their hands are tied by the law. It could be the case that they’re doing a tough job but their powers are limited.

It is true that they are not allowed to use much force when dealing with juveniles. They are discouraged from pursuing criminals on motorbikes. Most of them are not armed. They are understaffed. They do not have to pass challenging fitness tests to become an active member. There are attractive petite young ladies on the beat –  commonly referred to as “sexy banners;” Bangarda being the Irish term for a female police officer. During gay pride month they drive around in LGBTQ+ colours.

They advise complainants not to bother reporting “petty crimes” as they apparently do not have the resources to deal with such offences. Petty crimes can include things like theft and assaults.

For what it’s worth the guards must also deal with terrible abuse, threats, assaults and harassment. Oftentimes the guards are chased into submission by the criminals, and not the other way around. There is a power imbalance in Ireland whereby offensive wrongdoers hold more power and intimidation than the forces of the guards.

If they arrest a criminal offender they can only hold him/her at a police station for a few hours before that offender must be released. The cycle of arresting and releasing repeat offenders can come to seem like a pointless waste of everybody’s time, and this fruitless waste of everybody’s time is then exponentiated by the courts.

In Irish culture there is a type of character with a resumè that looks something like this; 100+ criminal convictions, awaiting sentencing while out on bail, no job and fully supported by generous state benefits, no educational credentials, no professional skills, has children that will almost definitely follow in the same footsteps, no respect for the guards, the law or the system that enables his/her life of debauchery. These characters are real and plentiful. One important aspect of their persona is the fact that they keep getting bail even when the courts know they will commit more offences while on bail.

Why are criminals in Ireland almost always let out on bail? It is ridiculous. It is a ridiculous system that enables serial offenders to carry on committing serial offences. In 2024 there were 40,000+ recorded offences committed by criminals that were on bail.

For the most brass-necked recidivists the system feels as if there’s no real repercussions for breaking the law. For the seasoned criminal offender a court summons is akin to a day out on a Tuesday morning where one can meet his mates in the foyer of the courthouse and get a good laugh at the theatrics of the wigs and gowns of the judges and barristers that read through reams of paper citing all sorts of mumbo jumbo legal jargon.

It can take 6 years for criminal charges to be finalised in court, and at the back of such a long-winded and costly process, the offenders often walk away with a suspended sentence, in other words, a slap on the wrist. No real punishment, or very little punishment, for doing very bad things over and over again all the time. It’s an insult to the victims of crime. It’s also an expensive rip-off for the taxpayers that fund it, with some of the “free legal aid” barristers earning well in excess of €500,000 a year – a public salary higher than the U.S. President’s.

Bail can be granted to those charged with murder. Bail can be granted to sex offenders that go on to commit more sex offences while out on bail. It’s hard to see the sense in it. There is a culture of bail and suspended sentences in the Irish courts ( https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41633770.html ).

Another questionable aspect of the Irish Legal System is GRCs (Gender Recognition Certificates) and Transgender Ideology. This subject was recently discussed by Father Ted creator Graham Linehan and former RTÈ journalist Paddy O’ Gorman ( https://www.youtube.com/live/iBxsZPfqI68?si=2FuZ2DdrMKxfx5a5 ).

According to the Gender Recognition Act 2015, persons over 16 years of age can legally change their gender by applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate. This law – and other laws – may be veering in the direction of madness.

Dubious pitfalls of such legislation are highlighted by Graham Linehan and Paddy O’ Gorman. In their discussion they speak about one of Ireland’s most famous prisoners – the case of Barbie Kardashian. Barbie Kardashian is an example of a male sex offender that now has free access to women’s spaces. He is known to threaten women with rape and sexual assault. Himself and other male offenders were granted access to women’s prisons in Ireland because they presented Gender Recognition Certificates in court.

Linehan and Paddy O’ Gorman also speak of the fear that was felt by female inmates from the presence of those male sex offenders. O’ Gorman also mentions comments made by a judge in court, something to the effect of “oh this is going to be awkward” when a male convict turned into court with no Gender Recogniction Certificate. He was seeking access to a woman’s prison, rather than a man’s prison. The judge was eager to grant him his wish and sentence him to a woman’s prison.

The icing on the cake of cases like Barbie Kardashian is the amount of time served in prison versus the amount of time sentenced to prison. In the Irish Legal System things are not always as obvious as they seem. Prisoners rarely ever serve the full whack of their sentence. Some of them barely serve any of their sentence. Barbie Kardashian served 2 years and 6 months of a 5 and a half year prison sentence. The term imposed means nothing. It is a makey-uppy number that can never be relied on. For example there are convicted murderers in Ireland that were sentenced to life in prison and released after 7 years.

Transgender ideology and the laws that support it are not only present in adult institutions across Ireland. The effect of these laws are also present in schools and children’s establishments. The case of Enoch Burke and his family has received media attention over the past few years.

Enoch Burke was a school teacher in Co. Mayo. He has served over 500 days in prison, stemming from his refusal to refer to male pupils as “they.” He was indefinitely suspended from his post as a teacher, stripped of his salary, stripped of his bank account, sentenced to prison and made into a pariah, all stemming from his refusal to affirm transgenderism in children’s schools. Ironically he served his time in a male prison.

At this present moment – October 2025 – Enoch Burke continues with what he feels is his quest for justice regarding the Irish Constitution and its stance on transgender ideology. Simultaneously a presedential election is looming and the only two candidates remaining are left wing representatives that cannot give a definitive answer on how many genders there are. One of those two candidates – Heather Humphreys – was employed in the same government department that issued a Gender Recognition Certificate to convicted sex offender Barbie Kardashian, before he was sent to a woman’s prison. These are the candidates for office as figurehead of law and policy in Republic of Ireland.

Of all the candidates that suggested they might consider running for President of Ireland in 2025, there’s a fair number of people that believe Conor McGregor would have been the best of the bad lot. That says a lot about the direction in which Irish politics is going. There is something significant in the fact that huge numbers of the electorate are planning to spoil their vote. It suggests that many people no longer have any faith in Irish law and policymakers.

There are many questions concerning the legal system and administration of justice in Ireland, but nobody is offering answers.

Why do people get assaulted in Temple Bar every week, and why is there nothing being done to fix it? What about motorbike theft and feral teenagers? Why are An Garda Síochána and the Irish Courts bullying people like Enoch Burke when serial offenders are allowed to walk free? Why do we have a society where people are allowed to clock up 300+ criminal convictions? Why should shopkeepers and business owners be subjected to the daily tyranny of shoplifting, burglary and arson? Why should the hardworking taxpayers be priced out of the housing market while their taxes are being used to finance free houses for convicts and wasters that contribute nothing to the system? Why does the law do everything to support criminals and wasters yet not enough for victims of crime and working people?

The short answer to all of those aforementioned questions is:

People in Ireland are fed up. The legal and justice system in Ireland is silly, and it’s an insult to victims of crime and an insult to the taxpayers that are forced to fund it.