Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 373 of 15 May 2012, if he will provide updated figures for 2011 in view of decreasing detection and convictions his views on reform of the Prohibition on Incitement to Hatred Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1427/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose.

I have requested the CSO to provide statistics directly to the Deputy in relation to offences under the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act, 1989.

Under the Act, it is an offence, inter alia, to use words, publish or distribute written material, or broadcast any visual images or sounds which are threatening, abusive or insulting and are intended, or, having regard to all the circumstances, are likely to stir up hatred. The word "hatred" is defined as "hatred against a group of persons in the State or elsewhere on account of their race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origins, membership of the travelling community or sexual orientation".

The State's prosecutorial authorities have not brought to my notice any difficulties in bringing prosecutions under the 1989 Act. The Deputy will also be aware that, in addition to the above legislation, where criminal offences such as assault, criminal damage, or public order offences are committed with a racist motive, they are prosecuted as generic offences through the wider criminal law. The trial judge can take aggravating factors, including racial motivation into account at sentencing.

In all the circumstances, I do not have plans for amendment of the legislation in this area.