Irish Hate Speech; Laws-What Happened, What We Learnt and What is Next

The dying days of the 33rd Dáil have seen a frantic legislative rush ahead of a now near-certain November 29th election date.

Among these pieces of legislation is the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Bill, heavily enfeebled since government amendments effectively removed most hate speech aspects from the original text.

Originally promising up to five years up conviction as well as a harrowingly loose definition of what constitutes hate, the Bill slipped past the final Dáil stage 78 vote to 52 as Sinn Féin buckled under grassroots pressure to turn their back on a bill they once trumpeted.

Likely to be inked by Áras an Uachtaráin before the end of the month the Bill promises additional sentencing for those found to have committed crimes such as assault with a long list of protected groups spanning gender, race, and racial origin.

Something of a pyrrhic victory for a coalition government that is out of time and facing a grassroots revolt over gender mania and migration while Minister McEntee and the Department were forced to make a strategic retreat on aspects of the bill nevertheless the EU edicts and the likelihood of a new government revisiting hate speech should remain on our radar.

What has happened?

The bill was originally published and initiated in 2022 as part of efforts to strengthen Ireland’s legislation on hate crimes and hate speech. It aimed to consolidate and modernise the law in this area, replacing the existing Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989.

In essence, the government wanted UK-style hate speech legislation to combat what they know as a certain right-wing revolt coming to our shores and to toe the line with Brussels.

Throughout 2022 and 2023, the bill went through several stages in both houses of the Oireachtas wherein it became a hot topic issue and almost toxic for many grassroots FF and FG to back. The international glare of Elon Musk and the prospect of Ireland’s Big Tech street cred being trampled on played an additional role.

With a flexible definition of hate not to mention the draconian search power that would allow Gardaí to seize the property of even the family members of those accused of “hate” the defanging of the initial Bill should be welcomed by all.

While the final wording of the Bill presents something of a tabula rasa for hate crime convictions the removal of the speech elements of the text can be marked as a major and symbolic victory for the inchoate Irish Right.

The craven NGO response lamenting the watering down of the hate speech clauses and even Minister McEntee’s subdued press release should be taken as a sign of this.

What We Learnt

-Grassroots and issues-based campaigns that can attract the centre while spooking FF, FG and even SF backbenchers can bring sizeable political dividends in at least stalling the liberal agenda. There are lessons to be learnt in migration-related campaigns.

-Despite the passing of a reduced hate crime bill it is clear there are diminishing returns on what the Oireachtas liberal supermajority can do ahead of an independent surge, breakdown in discipline among FF and an SF that is pivoting away from progressive politics, at least rhetorically.

-Bringing international attention to Ireland’s plight, akin to the heat that was directed against progressive Sweden in the 2010s can alienate the country and even weaponised Ireland’s overreliance on Big Tech.

-Despite the grandstanding the Irish state has neither the legislative tools, enforcement capacity or even political will to install European or UK-style hate speech laws. In many respects, the system has failed to institutionally lock Ireland down against an eventual nationalist fightback akin to most European societies or the basketcase that is the UK.