Criminals and sex offenders using deed poll to change their names and get new identities to ‘hide past’

The system is helping criminals to evade monitoring by gardaí. Stock image

Maeve Sheehan

More than 7,000 people have legally changed their name by deed poll in 10 years, new figures show, with convicted criminals among those giving themselves new identities.

The numbers of people who registered new names by deed poll increased from 550 people in 2014 to 835 last year.