Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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113. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if Ireland remains at risk of facing infringement proceedings from the EU regarding the Council Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia; the steps he will take to mitigate against this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21356/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Transposition of Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008 on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia was formally notified to the European Commission before the deadline in November 2010. In 2014, the Commission published a report on the implementation of the Framework Decision, which outlined concerns over correct transposition in over a dozen EU member states, including Ireland.

A Letter of Formal Notice was received from the Commission in October 2024, setting out its view that Ireland has not fully transposed the Framework Decision, specifically certain elements of Articles 1, 4, 8 and 9. My Department issued a formal response to the Commission and continues to engage with respect to the outstanding provisions.

The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 was developed with the twin aims of updating the law on incitement to hatred and introducing the outstanding provisions of the Framework Decision to bring our law in this area into line with our European neighbours. It subsequently became necessary to amend the Bill in the Oireachtas by removing the incitement to hatred provisions from the Bill in order to progress the hate crime elements. The resulting Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024 fulfilled the State’s obligation with regard to certain elements of the Framework Decision, in particular Article 4.

My Department continues to engage with the Commission on how the remaining outstanding provisions from the Framework Decision are to be formally entered into Irish law.