The Government is set to introduce the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 which is coming before the Seanad this week. There is confusion among the public about what the Bill represents and what exactly constitutes criminality.
Aontu's Cllr Sarah O'Reilly discussed some of the issues that are now emerging with the Bill during this week's meeting of Cavan County Council. She says that while she is opposed to all forms of discrimination and incitement to violence, everyone who lives in this country and who is a citizen of this country "must have equal rights".
She highlighted how one of the major defects with the Bill is its the lack of clear definitions. Cllr O'Reilly says the Bill is not ready to be legislated for and must be examined more closely. "Hatred, we are told by the Minister for Justice is the key reason for this Bill, yet it's not defined anywhere in the Bill.
"I oppose hatred. I would say that calling for violence against people is hatred and this should be illegal. But others would define hatred as saying that a woman is a female adult. The right not to be offended is not a fundamental human right There is also the question of who decides what 'hat' speech is?
"The idea that something might be said as a joke, would that be considered a criminal offence? Will there be allowances for stupidity? To deprive Irish citizens of our right to free speech, under the threat of criminalisation, is not a feature of a democratic or open society.
"The Bill is vague and I feel that the courts will be filled with test cases and legal wrangling for years because of the vagueness and the lack of clear definition of hatred," added Cllr O'Reilly.
