Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This Bill has been talked about by the Government for a long time. It is something that many stakeholders who work with minorities have been talking about for years. It is important to note some of the criticisms and concerns around the impact of the Bill on people's rights to freedom of expression. My party has reservations too. It is important that we get this Bill right and do not rush the process. We have seen significant changes since the heads of Bill were published. It is far from perfect and needs a lot of clarity in places. This is about finding a balance between people's freedom to express their views and people's rights not to be subjected to hatred because they are from a minority community.

We have recently seen the rise of hateful rhetoric towards people from minority ethnic backgrounds and those in the LGBT community. People have a right to live their lives without fear of being targeted as a result of who they are, where they come from or the faith they follow.

Section 3 is in line with the Equal Status Act 2000, which is good to see. Section 7 creates the new offence of incitement to violence or hatred but we need more clarity from the Minister as to how intent and motives are going to be weighed up in a court of law.

There were more than 4,000 submissions from stakeholders on the Bill and I believe many of their concerns remain. Sinn Féin supports a single statute in respect of hatred but we must allow time for detailed scrutiny of the legislation on Committee Stage. We want to support it but we will need to see many improvements before deciding whether we are in a position to vote for it.

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