Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for her work on the Bill. Hate crime is based on a criminal act and biased motive. Coincidentally, I recently read an article by Niall Stokes, who has done a lot of work on racism, in Hot Press. I read Being Black in the EU, a study conducted in 2019, which asked approximately 6,000 people of African descent in 12 countries in Europe their opinions on many different issues. I was shocked because it was an area in which I did not expect Ireland to rank highly and it is one survey that one does not want to see one's country's name listed. However, Ireland was ranked second in violent attacks against people of African descent. I could not believe that. Across all areas, there has been a lot of racially-motivated verbal abuse. We have to do something and act.

I support the work the Senator is doing and believe that we have to bring it to the fore because it is a discussion that needs to be had. We are here today to ensure that we can do something to support people who are going through this and it would be excellent to have people in here who can speak about having had this experience. We are speaking about surveys of people who are affected by this but the make-up of the Seanad and Dáil is not reflective of the community we have in Ireland at the moment. It is up to us to speak on their behalf and on behalf of us all. I support and thank the Senator.