Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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72. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the long overdue national action plan against racism will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6071/23]

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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108. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when the anti-racism strategy will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6003/23]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 72 and 108 together.

In 2020, the Government established an independent Anti-Racism Committee to strengthen the Government’s approach to combatting individual and institutional racism, and build on the antiracism actions included in the Migrant Integration Strategy and the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy. This is part of Ireland’s response to the UN call for global action to eliminate racism.

The Committee consulted widely with stakeholder organisations and members of the public. A total of 14 consultation sessions took place between May and July 2021, attended by approximately 170 people in total. In addition to the public consultations, over 100 written submissions were received, and an online survey was completed by over 150 respondents. Submissions received as part of the public consultation will be published on gov.iefollowing the launch of the National Action Plan Against Racism.

Following this extensive public consultation, as well as engagement with international experts, the Committee submitted its national action plan against racism in June 2022. The plan contains recommendations across a wide variety of areas to address racism and promote inclusion.

The Committee's plan proposes actions to help Ireland to become a place where the impacts of racism are acknowledged and actively addressed. It is intended to be a comprehensive, State-led, coordinated approach to eliminating racism in all its forms in all parts of Ireland. This includes antisemitism, islamophobia, racism that impacts on Travellers, and racism affecting people of African descent.

The development of an effective National Action Plan AgainstRacism required a measured and detailed approach, and took time to complete. It is important that the Plan accurately reflects the voices of experts and ordinary members of the public. It is also important that the Plan which is published has a clear roadmap to implementation. This will enable the Government to effectively address all forms of racism that exist in Ireland today.

A whole-of-government response will be needed to address this issue, as racism is pervasive across many facets of life in Ireland today. I intend to bring the Committee’s plan and a year-one implementation plan to Government for approval in the coming weeks, and then to launch the National Action Plan in March.

I would like to also note a number of other recent items which are important in the fight against racism.

The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 is currently before the Oireachtas. This bill aims to update laws that criminalise hate speech and to legislate against hate crimes for the first time in Irish law. The new legislation, once enacted, will enable prosecution of offences which are motivated by prejudice against protected characteristics, including race, nationality, or ethnic origin.

The recent Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022 will establish a regulatory framework for online safety. This will be overseen by an Online Safety Commissioner, whose binding Online Safety Codes will hold online services to account for how they tackle the availability of some of the most serious forms of harmful online content.

Eliminating racism is not something we will achieve overnight. With perseverance, consultation with affected parties, and a dedicated whole-of-society response, it is my hope that we can stem the tide of fear and hate.