The Deputy will be aware that I recently announced proposals to amend the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 at Seanad Committee stage so that the Bill can move forward with the hate crime elements.
Ireland is one of the last countries in the EU not to have specific hate crime offences set out in law, yet we are witnessing increasing intolerance, hatred and violence towards marginalised and minority communities. The introduction of hate crime laws is widely supported by the public with all-island research, conducted by the University of Limerick and Queens University and published in December 2023, finding that more than two thirds of those surveyed are in favour of hate crime legislation.
Under the new proposals, the Bill will still provide for increased prison sentences for certain crimes, where it is proven that the motivation is hatred of a protected characteristic, or where hatred is demonstrated. For example, the new legislation will ensure that assault aggravated by hatred or damage to property aggravated by hatred will attract higher prison sentences. Where hatred is not proven, a person can still be charged with assault or damage to property.
It will still need to be proven beyond reasonable doubt that a person committed a hate crime in a court of law; it will not be the case that an assertion from a victim or affected party, that an offender demonstrated hatred in the commission of an offence, will be enough to categorise someone as a hate crime offender.
Development of this legislation was informed by a comprehensive consultation process over the last five years which has included consultation with authorities in neighbouring jurisdictions, including England and Wales which has had hate crime legislation in place for over two decades. The legislation there functions similarly to what I am proposing for Ireland on the basis of an aggravated offences model.
In England and Wales, and in Ireland, the extent to which the sentence is increased in the case of a hate-aggravated offence will depend on the seriousness of the aggravation. The seriousness of the offence, combined with the potential uplift in sentence determine which type of court will deal with the offence. In the UK, this might be a Magistrate’s court or a Crown Court - which has a jury present - and in Ireland it may be the District Court, Circuit Court or High Court depending on the seriousness. For a prosecution to succeed, the court will have to be convinced beyond reasonable doubt that a hate-aggravated offence has been committed.
It is unacceptable that in a modern democratic country people are being targeted and are living in fear simply because of who they are. We know that when this happens, it has an even more detrimental impact on that person than it does on victims of non-hate motivated crimes. I want to tell victims that we are determined to stamp out hate motivated crimes and that we, as a nation, are determined to protect vulnerable communities.
