Irish Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has confirmed that the government will not move ahead with plans to update hate speech legislation, as the incitement to violence and hatred element is dropped from the proposed bill.

The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 passed its final stage in the Dáil in April 2023, with 110 TDs voting in favour and only 14 against. However, since then, some of those who had voted in favour have backtracked, including members of Sinn Féin, who have criticised the bill on the basis that it could infringe on freedom of expression. The bill is stalled in the Seanad after passing the second stage.

If it were to become law, the bill would introduce “aggravated” versions of existing criminal offences in cases where such offences are motivated by prejudice against a victim’s “protected characteristic”. The list of “protected characteristics” includes race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, gender (which will also include gender identity and expression) and disability.

Moreover, the bill would also update the hate speech provisions in the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989, creating new criminal offences in Irish law to cover incitement of hatred on all forms of media, including online and social media. However, this element of the legislation has now been abandoned, as Minister McEntee confirmed, and the government will proceed with the hate crime proposals only.

Speaking about the decision in Athlone, McEntee said: “The incitement to hatred element (of the bill) does not have a consensus, so that will be dealt with at a later stage.” The Minister explained that she had brought the proposed changes to three coalition party leaders during the summer.

“I am adamant that hate crime legislation will be enacted,” she added. “This will send a very pure message, if you attack a person, if you commit a crime against a person or a group of people, simply because of who they are, the colour of their skin, where they have come from, that there will be a tougher sentence, a harsher sentence at the end of the day.”

Further commenting on the Irish government’s decision to drop the hate speech element, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe explained that they had accepted that some parts of the bill had “not been able to generate the consensus and agreement that is needed is such an important piece of legislation”.

“The Government… has always made very clear our views regarding the distress that some particular forms of language can cause,” Donohoe added. “What we are doing is through other forms of legislation, for example our efforts to look at what is happening in social media, our efforts to regulate that better, are a clear sign of our effort to deal with the effect that language and incitement can have on behaviour and threats within our society.”

Speaking on RTÉ’s Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, Labour Leader Ivana Bacik criticised the government’s decision, calling it a “failing”. She added, “It is, I think, deeply regrettable to those of ethnic minorities, to those in the LGBTQ community, to people we have seen targeted with hate speech and incitement to hatred in recent months and years, who will feel, I think, less protected than they would have done had this bill had been able to progress as it should have done.

“Concerns were identified as the bill was proceeding through the Oireachtas, the government has had a whole summer recess in which to address those concerns and bring forward any necessary amendments so that the bill will achieve consensus before, whenever the election is,” Bacik said.

Quoted in this weekend’s @IrishTimes following Govt changes to Hate Bill. #PassTheBill 🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/WXfzvlYv1v

— Adam Long 🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺 (@adamlong80) September 22, 2024

Board Director of the National LGBT Federation (NXF) Adam Long spoke to The Irish Times about the changes to the bill. “It appears that good policy has suffered at the hands of political considerations, which is especially concerning when we are talking about the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable communities,” he said.

“Victims, criminal justice practitioners and Government itself have all been clear that existing provisions around incitement to hatred are simply not fit-for-purpose, and today’s announcement does not alter that reality.”

Long said that the NXF looks forward to the enactment of “long overdue” hate crime legislation in the near future and “will be seeking firm commitments from all the political parties that the next government will legislate for incitement as a matter of priority”.

Speaking to the media in New York, Taoiseach Simon Harris said he is still committed to seeing hate speech laws updated. “On balance, the stage we’re at in the political cycle, and indeed, reflecting the fact that there had been a number of concerns raised around freedom of speech in the balance, we’ve decided to go ahead with the hate crime because I believe we can realistically get that passed in the lifetime of this government,” he said.

“My personal view is exactly the same as the Minister for Justice, that we’re right to pass the legislation with hate crime, we do need to strengthen legislation on hate speech, and I agree fully with Helen in relation to that, but I also agree with her that we do need to see if we can create some level of consensus around this.”

In a statement about the Irish government’s decision to drop the hate speech sections of the bill, the Coalition Against Hate Crime said: “While we feel this is a missed opportunity to strengthen legislation on extreme hate speech, we nonetheless welcome their commitment to pass the hate crime sections of the legislation.

“In a climate of increasing intolerance, hostility and violence towards marginalised communities, we – organisations representing communities that are directly targeted – know how important it is that our country has fit-for-purpose legislation on extreme hate speech.”

The Coalition added, “Progress on tackling hate cannot leave incitement to violence behind. EU commitments, which the government cannot sidestep, require legislation in this area. The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 is widely regarded as inadequate and needs to be updated. The Coalition will continue to campaign for legislation to counter extreme hate speech, coupled with a holistic strategy to address the roots of hate in our society.”