Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am thankful for this opportunity to contribute. I thank Deputies Margaret Murphy O'Mahony and Fiona O'Loughlin for bringing forward this Bill. It is important that we are having this debate today and I appreciate all the contributions made. Like the Tánaiste, I have issues with certain aspects of this Bill but overall I support the rationale and premise behind it.

The Government is firmly committed to combating and challenging all manifestations of prejudice - racism, homophobia, sexism or religious discrimination. Being the target of a crime for simply being who one is or for being perceived as different is completely unacceptable and must not be tolerated.

Irish society is changing and evolving into a diverse society every day. We need to ensure, where necessary, that we respect and protect all members and all vulnerable groups from any type of discrimination and particularly from hate crime. We have made great strides. We have looked after the LGBT people but we still have much work to do to ensure all sectors of society are protected from all types of irrational hatred and violence.

All crime has an impact on victims, particularly hate-motivated crimes and it does not impact only on the victim but on all members of that particular group. It feeds feelings of rejection, loneliness and isolation and, in turn, that prompts reactions of alienation and counter-responses, and the cycle continues. We must bring our understanding and solidarity to these people. This is essential if we are to live together in diverse groups in our society as a whole.

A review of our approach to the integration of migrants, which was launched in 2014, provides the basis for a new and updated migrant integration strategy, which will be published soon. This will include a strong anti-racism component, with specific areas for action to promote intercultural awareness and to combat racism and xenophobia.

Hate crime and less serious levels of public harassment and insult, if not tackled adequately, reduce the safety of public spaces by creating an impression of impunity and public support for these crimes. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien mentioned some very heinous crimes. We are all aware of these in society and they can be very significant. Violent prejudice attacks the very cohesion and fabric of our society.

The Tánaiste mentioned that there is an ongoing review of Ireland's Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 and this is being done in light of reports by civil society, international obligations and changes in society, including the use of the Internet and social media. The wider issue of hate-based crime is also forming part of this review. The provisions of this Bill and this debate will also feed into this work. Having said that, I reiterate what the Tánaiste said earlier. It is a fact that the courts can and do take into account bias or prejudice motivation as an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing. I share the Tánaiste's concerns as to how some of these provisions would work in a practical sense, such as how the aggravation of the offence would be proved in court? I believe this will be difficult to demonstrate in practice.

Equally, as mentioned by other speakers, where we are legislating for certain bias motivation, as this Bill does, I believe consideration should be given at a minimum to including prejudice based on religious intolerance, gender or members of the Travelling community, as mentioned by many speakers. These are all groups protected under the Prohibition against Incitement to Hatred Act.

Last November An Garda Síochána extended recording of bias motivation indicators for hate-motivated incidents on the Garda PULSE system to include anti-Traveller and anti-Roma as well as anti-Muslim, transphobia, age related, gender related and disability related motivation indicators. These, in addition to the existing bias motivation indicators, which are anti-Semitism, homophobia, racism, sectarianism and xenophobia, will enable more comprehensive collection of data when recording incidents, and this is very important. This more detailed recording will also form part of the victim assessment in accordance with the EU victims directive.

There is very much an awareness on the Government's part of the seriousness and the impact of hate crime and this debate reflects that awareness, although it must be said that the Tánaiste has expressed concerns about the import of this proposed Bill and she outlined her concerns about aspects of it, its effectiveness and the amendments it may require, and I share those views.

I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this Bill and I know they will be anxious to consider how best to address the policy and drafting issues raised in this debate, as another Deputy opposite said, as this Bill moves forward.

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