Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome and fully support the Bill to legislate on hate crime and hate speech. My party introduced hate crime legislation in the Seanad. It is long past time for proper legislation in this area. Hate crime is real and has real impact. In 2021, An Garda Síochána recorded 448 hate crimes and hate-related non-crime incidents. I pay tribute to An Garda Síochána on its work. I am always asking the Minister about Garda recruitment. I know how important a role the Garda plays. It is important that we have as many gardaí as possible. I compliment the gardaí.

I listened to a few radio programmes during the week and the term "wishy-washy" kept coming up in the context of the legislation. That troubles me a bit, in the sense that the ICCL has also asked the Minister to take on board its recommendation that the definition of "hatred" should be better defined. I urge her to take this on board. These are issues that we must examine. The ICCL has also suggested that the defence of "freedom of expression" should be clearer and more detailed. Irish people of different race or religion, Irish Travellers, the LGBTQI+ community and persons with disabilities have all become more visible and engaged - rightly so. To ensure everyone is treated equally, we must show zero tolerance for any kind of hate speech or hate crime.

It is unacceptable today, here or anywhere, that anyone should be the victim of a crime because of their race, colour, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or disability - visible or invisible. What we have right now in terms of legislation must be changed and this is one way we are tackling that. Having said that, I welcome the Bill. I want us to ensure there is sufficient time for meaningful democratic debate on the Bill. There is evidence of many revisions in the drafting of the Bill. We must make sure, going forward, that we have good legislation that works on the ground and will be enacted. The inclusion of a demonstration test can show that a perpetrator demonstrated hate towards a member of a protected group at the time of an offence being committed. This might involve, for example, the use of slurs, gestures, other symbols or graffiti at the time of offending. This is a welcome change to better support prosecution in this area. I strongly recommend that we include a requirement for review of the legislation and robust monitoring of its implementation.

I have listened to previous speakers. I know the work the Minister has put into the Bill. This legislation must be enacted as soon as possible. It is important for us all that this happens. I stress that we must get better at communicating. Communication is such an important issue. I know the Minister is aware of that. We need an action plan to educate and dispel false information. We must tackle hate crime and hateful beliefs and attitudes that may ultimately give rise to further hate and crimes. I am fully supportive of the Bill. There are some issues that need to be addressed, and I will speak to the Minister in person about them. I thank her again.

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