Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 17 November 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill 2021: Discussion

Dr. Jennifer Schweppe:

If, in spreading that misinformation, the individual incited hatred against a group, then it probably would come under head 3. The person who expressed those opinions could also use the political context discourse defence. This would get us back to where we started from. It is important to determine what the speech is inciting and against what or whom. What group is the speech inciting hatred against? Is the speech inciting hatred against people who vaccinate or people who do not vaccinate, or is it inciting hatred against a group because they are from a particular community? Does the Senator see what I mean?

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