Earlier this month, the Irish government announced its decision to abandon long-anticipated hate speech legislation, drawing criticism from advocacy groups. The proposed laws, which aimed to strengthen the existing 1989 Incitement to Hatred Act, had faced growing opposition from those concerned about their potential impact on free speech. Ultimately, the government shelved the proposal amidst political pressures and the looming general election.
In response, Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre expressed deep disappointment. Co-Director Martin Collins emphasised the missed opportunity to combat hate crime by addressing hate speech, highlighting the current law’s reliance on proving “intent” rather than recklessness. The decision, Collins said, raises concerns about societal values and the protection of vulnerable communities.
“We feel let down and disappointed,” said Martin Collins, Co-Director of Pavee Point, “While the government must go ahead with Hate Crime legislation, it has been shown that hate crime increases with hate speech. Scrapping stronger hate speech laws represents a lost opportunity to prevent hate crime and protect communities.”
“Arguments that any new Hate Speech law would curtail free speech are bogus as we already have the Incitement to Hatred Act, 1989 and now that will remain unchanged. This law makes it an offence to publish or use words in public that are threatening, abusive, insulting or likely to stir up hatred.”
“We think it’s worth reminding people of current hate speech legislation, as sometimes, over the last year, people may have got the idea that Hate Speech legislation was a new thing in Ireland. It’s not,” said Mr. Collins.
“Our problem with the 1989 Act is that a successful prosecution requires you to show ‘intent’. This proved difficult and resulted in a low number of prosecutions. The new legislation allowed for prosecution if people were ‘reckless’ to the impact of their words while including other defences,” he explained.
“The fact that more effective and much-needed hate speech legislation has been sacrificed to the political realities of a populist backlash largely played out in the media and a looming general election – is concerning,” he said. “It raises questions about the values we promote in our society.”
“We believe that, in general, people want a society free from fear and intimidation for everyone – including groups that experience discrimination such as women, the LGBTQ+ community, people with a disability and minority ethnic groups including Travellers and Roma. This government has, sadly, failed to deliver on this.
Yesterday, Flac published its 2023 Annual Report, which indicated that Roma women continue to experience high levels of discrimination from retailers because of their ethnicity and gender. This shows that racism towards Roma is widespread when it absolutely should not be. Discrimination, racism, hate speech and hate crime are all intrinsically linked and need to be addressed as such.”
Submitted by-Michaela Quinn, Pavee Point Communications Officer
