Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What exactly were the legal and technical issues with Deputy Howlin's amendment? With regard to the 1989 Act, was introducing the concept of recklessness to broaden it out somewhat ever considered? Amendments Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive, delete reference to the EU framework. With regard to the definitions of "hate" and "hatred", we moved a number of amendments on the definition of "hatred" as the Bill was going through various Stages. Our amendments proposed that the definition of "hate" would include bias, prejudiced content, hostility and bigotry. We also included other definitions for "hatred" to mean a state of mind characterised as an intense and irrational emotion of enmity or detestation against a person or a group of persons. These definitions were advised to us and had been raised by a number of bodies, including the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. The Government's definition of "hate" defines it quite simply as hatred. It is a circular definition. One of the main concerns expressed as the Bill has been going through both Houses has been the lack of definition of "hate" and "hatred". The Government's amendments still read that "hate" is hatred, when there are multiple well-researched internationally accepted definitions that would have been more acceptable.

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