James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that all the Deputies want to get to the same place, where we can seriously discourage hatred, where hate speech will not happen and where minorities will be protected. A lot of consideration was given to whether to use the motivation or demonstration approach, and the Oireachtas joint committee was clear it wanted to see the demonstration approach taken into account. It has been effective in other jurisdictions. Proving motivation in court is exceptionally difficult, and I say that as someone who has both practised in the Law Library and examined the research that has been carried out on the issue. It is about finding the balance to ensure those who demonstrate hatred will be held accountable. In our view, this is, on balance, the more appropriate and better approach to take.

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