Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 April 2024
523. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 241 of 18 April 2024, if she is aware that Scottish police received almost 4,000 complaints in the first 24 hours of the operation of the new Scottish legislation; if Gardaí currently have adequate resources to deal with a likely surge in complaints; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19330/24]
View answerThe Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill will legislate against hate crimes for the first time in Irish law and bring us into line with our European counterparts. It will also update existing incitement to hatred laws dating from 1989 to ensure compliance with EU law and to better reflect modern methods of communicating. In doing so, it will update and simplify existing offences to reflect the online context in which people now communicate and to ensure the legislation is more effective.
The recent enactment of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 has highlighted similar misconceptions to those that have arisen in the context of the new legislation in this country. There is a perception that offensive speech will be criminalised under the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill but this is not the case. Nor does it represent a new or radical departure in Irish law.
The initially high volume of reports received by the Scottish Police following the enactment of the new legislation there was anticipated given its high profile, however, I understand that the vast majority of these reports were not considered to be criminal and in the following week, there was a 75 per cent decrease in reports which has further subsided since then.
It is worth noting that hate speech and hate crime have been criminalised in England and Wales for over two decades and the experience there is that figures for hate crime convictions are at similar levels to those of regular crimes.
Operational issues are a matter for an Garda Síochána, who will decide how to proceed based on the information available to them in each case and I would encourage anyone who has been the victim of an offence to report it to An Garda Síochána so that it can be investigated.
Ireland’s existing law which already criminalises extreme hate speech dates back 35 years. In updating this law, I have provided for specific defences and protections for freedom of speech and expression in line with the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.
People will still be able to be offensive, say things that make others uncomfortable, have full and robust debate - but they cannot incite hatred or violence against others on account of their inherent identity characteristics. It is vitally important that we protect our most vulnerable and minority communities who are targeted with hatred just because of who they are.
It is my intention to progress the Bill to enactment, as it meets an important programme for Government commitment. However, I acknowledge the concerns that have been raised around certain provisions in the Bill. To this end, I am currently considering appropriate amendments to the Bill, which I will bring forward at Committee stage in the Seanad in due course.
