A new report from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance has urged Ireland to implement stricter legislation regarding hate speech.

Published this morning, the report examined progress made by Ireland, Finland and Montenegro in relation to legal and institutional frameworks regarding equality and anti-discrimination measures. The report also assessed these countries’ policies regarding the Roma and Traveller communities and the LGBTQ+ community and made recommendations based on these assessments.

With regard to Ireland, the ECRI made 15 recommendations and called for Ireland to adopt stricter hate speech legislation.

According to the report, hate speech in Ireland was found across news media, online platforms and in the political sphere. It also found that “recent documented examples of politicians’ reactions to events in local communities” fuelled hatred and escalated tensions further. Most of the discriminatory content the ECRI came across was “motivated by anti-migrant, anti-Black/African, anti-refugee and asylum-seeker sentiments”.

The report also recommended that Ireland improve the availability and quality of accommodation for people seeking international protection.

The ECRI also found that members of the Roma and Traveller communities “continue to face high levels of racism and discrimination with recent research confirming negative attitudes towards them”. Anti-Roma and anti-Traveller racism was found across all areas of life, including health, housing, education and employment.

To combat this, the ECRI said Ireland should “take decisive action to secure the effective implementation of the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy”. This involves allocating sustainable and sufficient resources, conducting regular monitoring and ensuring co-operation with local authorities, civil society organisations and members of the Roma and Traveller communities.

With regards to the LGBTQ+ community, the ECRI pointed to research which shows that harassment and hate speech are still a reality in Ireland. It noted, in particular, a “deterioration in attitudes towards transgender and intersex communities” with many LGBTQ+ people “feeling unsafe to express their sexual orientation or gender identity in public.”

The report also determined that Ireland has seen a number of “positive developments” since 2019, including the launch of the National Action Plan against racism, new mechanisms for dealing with hate crime and the preparation of the draft National LGBTQI+ Inclusion Strategy.