Thank you to all who attended our public meeting on Justice Minister Helen Mc Entee’s Hate Speech Bill Wednesday evening.
We filled out the hotel conference hall and ran out of standing space at the back!
Professor Gerard Casey and Mattie McGrath TD were our first two speakers.
Casey, a Philosophy academic, criticized the bill for its logical inconsistencies, while McGrath outlined how it may be used to censor political opposition.
Casey’s Speech: “You Cannot Legislate for Morality”
McGrath’s Speech: “A Bill to Shut Us Up!”
Irish Independent columnist Ian O’Doherty lamented how Cancel Culture ended the careers of many of his colleagues in Journalism.
He was followed by Senator Sharon Keogan who warned of the “chilling effect” a Hate Speech law would have.
Ed Shanahan, a barrister and law academic, explained the legal reprecussions of a Hate Speech law, and how it may just be the first in a “floatilla” of legislation designed to remove the rights of Irish people.
It was astoundingly successful evening, and hopefully the first of many such events we intend to host across the country.
Fine Gael TDs Helen McEntee and Neil Richmond have each called for the already over-burdened Garda service to do more in different areas.
The goal set out for new students entering the Garda College in 2022 by the coalition government of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party was 800. Official figures, however, show that only 90 students entered the Garda College this year.
Minister McEntee often cites that her proposed Hate Speech Bill is necessary due to the fact that its predecessor, The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989, only secured 50 prosecutions in the more than 30 years since it was enacted. There is no doubt that her new bill casts a very wide net, with many in the Dáil criticising it last week on that very basis. It is not the increased number of prosecutions however that will be the greatest strain to Gardaí in this bill: Gardaí will now have to monitor both the streets for crimes, and the Internet for hate crimes.
While McEntee seeks to redirect limited Garda resources online, another Fine Gael TD, Neil Richmond, called for those same resources to be directed onto the streets:
Garda resources are already thin, how can you call for more on the streets while also wanting them to arrest people for tweets?
Free Speech Ireland would like to invite all members of the public to a panel discussion in response to Helen McEntee’s recently introduced Hate Speech Bill.
Featuring a variety of speakers including the Irish Independent’s Ian O’Doherty, UCD’s Professor Gerard Casey, and Senator Sharon Keogan, with more panelists to be announced.
Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022
Free Speech Ireland would like to establish our position on the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 and raise our concerns over the risk that this bill poses to people’s right to freedom of expression. We are concerned that ill-defined and unclear aspects of the bill will result in limitations being placed on people’s right to freedom of expression and that this is an unproductive use of Garda resources. We would like to draw the attention of Irish legislators to Sections 7 through 11 in particular.
Section 7: Establishes that a person may be found guilty of an offence if the person “communicates material to the public or a section of the public” . This not only opens an individual to prosecution for personal statements made, but also for the sharing of content on social media, even if published by another user in a separate country or jurisdiction. Part 3 of this section states that “it shall be a defence to prove that the material concerned or, insofar as appropriate,” if the contribution is considered “genuine” or “reasonable”. These are vague and subjective criteria that may see an individual fined or imprisoned for up to 5 years.
Section 8: Broadly covers the communication of material relating to genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. Similarly however, Section 8 fails to make provisions for the sharing of material published by another individual or entity. It opens a person to prosecution for sharing of historical articles or news items that may not reflect the contemporary views of Irish society. Furthermore this could also affect the communication of material from a foreign culture or country where world views may differ to our own.
Section 9: Under this section a person may be found guilty irrespective of whether communication of material or behaviour was successful in inciting another person to violence or hatred. This would penalise individuals as a result of gross speculation.
Section 10: The possession of material which is not considered “reasonable” or a “genuine contribution” shall be an offence. As with Section 7, these are subjective criteria and are deeply concerning as the bill does not establish what is considered a “reasonable” or “genuine contribution”. It is vital that lawful expression is not restricted by the Government.
Section 11: There is a concerning limited and ill-defined “Protection Of Freedom Of Expression” afforded by the bill in Section 11. This section is no more than four lines, and does not establish clear protections for Freedom of Speech.
Conclusion: We recommend that legislators reject the bill in its current form. Irish legislators should take steps to expand protections against harassment rather than broadly restrict the speech of all individuals.
The Irish government has published the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 as of the 27th October 2022, with full intention to pass the legislation by end of year.
It is imperative that you contact your local TD and ask them to vote against this bill.
If you reside in Meath East please find the contact details of your local TD’s below:
Free Speech Ireland Spokesperson Sarah Hardiman has announced a campaign in Meath East to raise awareness of the threat the proposed Hate Speech and Hate Crime Bill poses to Freedom of speech.
Speaking today, Ms. Hardiman said “Less than five years after the Irish people voted to expand freedom of speech in the blasphemy referendum, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee is looking to restrict those freedoms again under the guise of the Hate Speech and Hate Crime Bill. This is an affront to our basic civil liberties and freedoms”
Ms. Hardiman Continued “From a Scottish comedian being arrested in 2018 for teaching his dog to raise its paw to the command “Sieg Heil” to a Canadian man being jailed for calling his biologically female child his daughter, wherever hate speech legislation has been implemented, it has been abused. The potential for Hate Speech legislation to be used as a baton against political opponents is also significant. In the past few years alone both French and Dutch politicians have had cases taken against them on the grounds of hate speech. Already in Ireland politicians have signalled their interest in using this legislation to censor political opponents”
Speaking on March 9th, during a Dáil debate on a European commission proposal regarding hate speech, Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe said of a minor Irish political party:
“If its members believe they have a right to speech, they will have less of a right to make their statements when we sign up to this [European Commission proposal], because any form of rallying people or inciting hatred in that regard will be illegal,”
“This cuts to the very heart of our democracy. Dáil privileges protect the freedom of speech of politicians. Yet the government is trying to take away the very same right from the Irish people. As this government staggers from crisis to crisis, we cannot allow it to curtail our right to freedom of speech. Free Speech Ireland recognises this as one of the greatest threats to the civil liberties of the Irish people in the history of the state. Because of this, we are committed to leafleting Meath East to raise awareness of the threat that this poses to our democracy.” Concluded Ms. Sarah Hardiman.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee without mandate is attempting to introduce legislation that will patently undermine the fundamental right of speech in Ireland.
The Incitement to Hatred and Hate Crime Bill – the Hate Speech and Hate Crime Bill is currently at the final drafting stage and is scheduled to be introduced in the autumn when completed.
The purported aim of the legislation is to tackle hateful speech, however it is extreme in measure, poorly defined, and could potentially be used to prosecute minority opinion in Ireland.
A failed policy in the UK, this will empower Gardaí to pursue and prosecute any statement perceived to be prejudiced.
This is a waste of valuable Garda time and resources and contrary to your constitutional freedoms.
As recently as 2018 we affirmed the right to free speech in the Blasphemy Referendum. This move is a step backward to an Ireland none of us want.
Furthermore, it is stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that freedom of speech is a human right.
So called Hate Speech laws are a savage hypocrisy: they would do more to divide communities in Ireland by highlighting that they are different and thus should be treated differently under the law.
Free Speech Ireland is an organisation that will fight against these new excessive laws and is appealing to McEntee to reverse these plans.
The Incitement to Hatred and Crime Bill is an affront to Irish democracy and must be stopped.
Contact your local TD. Details of which can be found on www.whoismytd.com
