Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill before this evening and I compliment my two colleagues, Deputies O'Loughlin and Murphy O'Mahony, for bringing it forward. This Bill essentially seeks to tackle hate crime in an effective and robust manner. It seeks to ensure that the option is open to the Garda and the Director of Public Prosecutions to pursue a hate crime conviction should such an offence have occurred.

Under the Bill, if somebody is convicted of an offence that is aggravated by prejudice or hatred, then that must be taken into account when sentencing. Ireland is currently out of step by not having a specific hate crime. Fianna Fáil firmly believes that such legislation is needed and there is an onus on us to make it clear that such hatred will not be tolerated in society.

I also compliment Deputy Murphy O'Mahony on the Bill as a positive step forward in enhancing and protecting the rights of persons with disability. It is hoped that the Bill will not only make hate crime based on disability an offence, but will also improve on the reporting and recording of hate crime, which is generally considered under reported.

Hate crime legislation is in place in Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales and Fianna Fáil introduced this Bill to bring the legislation up to date. We are currently working off the Prohibition of Incitement to Racial Religious or National Hatred Act 1989. Under the Act, it is an offence to incite hatred against a particular group but it does not criminalise those who commit the crimes against the other groups, except under general legislation. We also must bear in mind how much Ireland has changed since that time. As the Immigrant Council of Ireland pointed out, it is two decades since immigration into Ireland commenced and it is time for laws to reflect such changes were put in place.

Ireland is behind the curve when it comes to having effective legislation in place to deal with hate crimes. Currently, we do not have specific hate crime laws. Fianna Fáil firmly believes that such legislation is needed and this will help make it clear.

Earlier I listened to the debate as I went through the House. I welcome the contributions of the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, and Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. We acknowledge the Bill is not perfect. If we get it to committee we will bring in the NGOs and we will all sit together around the table to make it a far stronger and robust Bill for all sectors of society.

I acknowledge what Deputy Jonathan O'Brien stated earlier. The Deputy found so many flaws in it. I hear what the Deputy is saying, that there is so much left out and he is correct. The Deputy stated it does not mention the Travelling community, but it does in the sense that people are targeted because of their sexual orientation, gender, including gender identity, race, religion, disability, age and ethnicity, including membership of the Traveller community. We must acknowledge that this is all about inclusion. Deputy O'Brien is saying it is a weak Bill and poor legislation. The Deputy referred to it as lazy legislation, and a regressive Bill. Surely the Deputy cannot see it as a regressive Bill when there is nothing there beforehand. It is our first step. When other groups in the House are acknowledging that it is the right step in the right direction, we must acknowledge that we will never change anything unless we start working together and bring in all groups and ethnic minorities to be part of it.

What is going on in communities is wrong. It is wrong that individuals are singled out. It is wrong that the Traveller community is treated so. It is wrong that Asians and the other groups are singled out. We must start protecting them and that is what Deputy Jonathan O'Brien and I, and all in this House, are elected to do. We are elected to be legislators. We are elected to bring Bills before the House. We are elected to discuss the Bill but then we also have a duty to bring them to committee to bring in all those who we represent around the table to discuss how we can strengthen the legislation.

There is no point in bringing Bills before the House unless we are prepared to see them through. Sometimes it is so easy to find fault with everything but it is far more constructive to work as a unit to represent the people Deputy Jonathan O'Brien and I represent. All of us who represent the people come from the various groups this seeks to address.

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