Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

We will not support this Bill. There is absolutely a need for a Bill which addresses hate crime. There have been attacks on migrants, refugees and people from different religious, racial and ethnic backgrounds and we would welcome a Bill that addresses this problem correctly but unfortunately this Bill is not what we need.

I am not fully equipped to deal with whether this Bill is workable in the Irish legal context but I do know the opinions of Jennifer Schweppe and Amanda Haynes of the Hate and Hostility research group that this is not suitable and we cannot transpose an Act from Scotland to here without running legal risks.

However, I want to concentrate on what is not proposed in the Bill. The wording on categories at risk from hate crime have been pointed out. They are outdated, regardless of how well meaning they may be. For example, the Deputy uses a term in the Bill for trans people. Is it not possible for the terms to cover Roma, people without documents, refugees or those seeking asylum? The key to the success of a Bill dealing with hate crime would be to identify the victim groups we are seeking to protect. On that key issue, this Bill is, to say the least, wanting. For example, the wording on trans people does not recognise individuals who face hate crime as a result of their being agender or gender fluid, which would be a far better concept to protect people based on their gender identity and gender expression.

More worrying in an Irish context, and as referred to by other speakers, is that the Bill does not specifically mention Travellers. That is crucial and I will concentrate on that aspect for the remainder of the time available to me. Rarely a month goes by when we do not witness prejudice against Travellers in this country. On many occasions, statements that could encourage discrimination and hate are directed at the Traveller community, often by elected representatives, some in this House and in many county councils up and down the country. To give some examples, Fianna Fáil Councillor Sean McEniff said on a local radio station in Donegal that one would not want them beside one and that he did not want them beside him. The councillor made a number of remarks about Traveller families ranging from saying they would wreck houses to branding them as bad eggs.

Councillor Tom Sheahan referred-----

See this speech in context