Brandon Scott
Two politicians have voiced their “relief” in the aftermath of Minister for Justice Helen McEntee’s decision to drop the controversial ‘hate speech’ section of the proposed Criminal Justice Bill, but have warned that the issue may not yet have been kicked to touch as it’s likely the decision was made “to avoid backlash and divisive debates before the upcoming election” and may well be revisited at some point in the future.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Independent Senator Rónán Mullen, a long-time vocal critic of the Bill, said that he was “happy that they’ve pulled in their horns at least to the extent of saying that they’re not going to try and advance the hate speech part of the legislation” but that he also “wants to see what they’re going to do because I would still have some concerns”.
“This Bill is based on protected categories and if there’s hatred against one or all of them, then you’re into the zone of criminal offence.
“If the Government continues with that strange definition for gender that they had in and the basis for hatred in the hate legislation, that is still problematic because that would set in precedent that this is a definition of gender that’s from an NGO, that’s full of ideology and denies the basic realities of the gender of male and female. It would be more than nonsense to put that into law in any shape or form – harmful nonsense.
“The fact that they’re just dropping it without trying to amend it suggests that they’re taking the easy route out to avoid election controversy, certainly. The Minister for Justice says that they’re going to try and bring it back so people will need to continue their advocacy and their campaigning on this.”
Councillor Emer Tóibín, whose party Aontú was the only party to vote against the Bill in the Dáil and who will be contesting against Minister McEntee in the upcoming election for the Meath East constituency, said that she’s relieved because the proposals represented a “veiled attack on democracy”.
“There is a broad feeling of relief that this government has finally come to its senses and no doubt it is a win for free speech,” she said. “This bill has sparked much debate over the last two years, with some proponents shockingly advocating for stronger measures. Aontú, on the other hand, was the only political party in Dáil Eireann opposed to the bill and its potential adverse impact on free speech and open discourse. The government’s aim was excessively censorious and a veiled attack on democracy.
“The Government simply had to shelve it in a bid for self-preservation to avoid the backlash and ongoing divisive debates during the campaign period ahead.”