Ireland given two months to begin implementing hate speech laws or face legal action from EU
IRELAND HAS TWO months to begin implementing hate speech laws or face being taken to the Court of Justice of the EU.
Under existing EU rules on combating racism and xenophobia, the European Commission believes Ireland is allegedly 'failing' to comply with laws, first agreed to in 2008, surrounding the criminalisation of race-based violence and hatred.
In the Commission's monthly infringement package, which details what countries it believes are failing to comply with European law, Ireland has been given two months to begin implementing laws preventing racially-charged hate speech.
The state has also been told that it must implement legislation against the denial, condoning of and gross trivialisation of international crimes and the Holocaust. The Commission has threatened legal action if the necessary measures are not implemented.
The government has repeatedly pointed to existing legislation that criminalises the incitement to hatred and hate speech, under the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989. In 2017, the Irish Courts Service said
just five people were convicted under the law
.
The existing legislation is not good enough in the eyes of the European Commission, however. It today warned Ireland and Finland that laws must be amended within two months or face the possibility of being referred to the Court of Justice of the EU.
Ireland can be compelled to begin implementing the laws or fined for not doing so by that court.
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The
Commission's opinion
reads: 'While Ireland notified some transposition measures in the meantime, the Commission considers that Ireland still fails to transpose the provisions related to criminalising the public incitement to violence or hatred against a group or a member of such group based on certain characteristics, as well as the conducts of condoning, denial, and gross trivialisation of international crimes and the Holocaust.'
Hate crime legislation came into effect
at the end of December
last year but controversially
omitted references to hate speech
, defined as public incitements to violence of hatred against a group or member of a group based on certain characteristics.
At the time that the hate offences were agreed to, then-justice minister Helen McEntee
conceded that Ireland's legislation around the crimes were outdated
when compared to other European member states.
Despite this, the decision was taken in September last year to remove legislation relating to hate speech from the act due to a
lack of consensus within government at the time
.
The laws were also the subject of protest by
far-right agitators and conspiracy theorists
as well as the
Irish Council of Civil Liberties and People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy
.
The Journal
has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.
Separately today, the Commission has also warned Ireland of its failure to fully implement laws on the prevention of adverse effects on the climate by landfills and comply correctly with European Arrest Warrant procedures.
Ireland was also among 19 countries that have yet to fully implement new European standards around cybersecurity. The state has also been given two months to take action on these infringes.
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