Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is my intention to progress the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill to enactment to protect those who are most vulnerable and who, sadly as we have seen, are attacked simply because of who they are, where they came from or because of some other part of their identity that is, quite frankly, nobody else's business. I am determined to enact strong, effective and proportionate legislation to do this. Some people have raised concerns about certain provisions in the Bill and I have indicated that I am willing to look at addressing, as appropriate, those concerns. To this end, I am considering a number of amendments which I intend to bring forward on Committee Stage in the Seanad in due course.

As the Deputy is aware, this Bill will legislate against hate crimes for the first time in Irish law and bring us into line with our European counterparts. We are one of the last countries in the European Union without hate crime legislation. This legislation is necessary and the figures from An Garda Síochána showing a significant increase in hate crimes in recent years are proof of that. Having hate crime laws in place is widely supported by the public.

I assure the Deputy that what is proposed to address hate crime is balanced, both in terms of recognising the effect that hate crimes have on their victims and the criminal test used to prove such offences. The demonstration test, which we have discussed in this Chamber and which is provided for in this legislation, simply means that a person accused of a hate crime must have demonstrated hatred towards a member of a protected group or characteristic at the time he or she committed the alleged offence. It is this demonstration of hatred that causes the additional harm to victims in comparison with other crimes.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Bill completed all Stages in Dáil Éireann in April 2023, with 110 Deputies voting in favour and just 14 voting against. I am looking forward to engaging with colleagues again when the Bill comes back into this House and to progressing this important legislation.

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