The new release, the first in a new annual Recorded Crime Victims series, has been made possible following an assessment of the quality of data recorded by An Garda Síochána.

Statistician Sam Scriven said:”This new release provides statistics on the number of recorded victims of crime for some serious incident categories, and some context into the reporting of such crimes to An Garda Síochána during 2018.

“In 2018, 77 per cent of homicide victims and 59 per cent of victims of reported physical assault and related offences were males. However, more than 4 in 5 victims (82%) of reported sexual violence incidents were females.

“The reporting of sexual violence encompasses the reporting of incidents which occurred recently as well as the reporting of historic cases of sexual violence. In 2018, 63% of victims of sexual violence reported incidents which had taken place within one year, and almost 90% of these victims were females.

“A quarter of sexual violence reported in 2018 referred to incidents which took place ten or more years prior to being reported to An Garda Síochána, and the vast majority of these cases took place when the victim was aged under 18 years.”

Welcoming the new publication, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said: “I am pleased that changes to PULSE have facilitated a better breakdown of crime data. The publication of this data can only help to better inform Government policy and responses to supporting victims of crime.”

He added: “The Government has prioritised the provision of supports for vulnerable victims of crime, notably through the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017.

Major structural and cultural reform is also being seen within our overall policing response and in how An Garda Síochána are dealing with such crime and in supporting victims. This includes the roll out of the Garda Divisional Protective Services Units, which will be established across all Policing Divisions this year.

“A suite of legislation has been introduced to allow ratification of the Istanbul Convention.”