The Irish government has abandoned plans to implement controversial new hate speech laws following widespread backlash from free speech advocates.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee confirmed on Saturday that Dublin will drop new hate speech provisions in the proposed Criminal Justice Bill, admitting that the “incitement to hatred” section of the legislation did “not have a consensus,” the Irish Times reports.
Critics of the speech restrictions have noted that the government failed to actually define what constitutes “hate” and therefore the law would have given broad powers to the state to crush dissent. The scope of the draconian powers would have even included jailing people for up to two years for merely “possessing material likely to incite violence or hatred against persons on account of their protected characteristics.”
Those convicted for “incitement to violence or hatred against persons on account of their protected characteristics” would have faced up to five years in prison.
Proponents of implementing fresh hate speech restrictions have argued that it is necessary for the “common good“, with many citing growing tensions and outbursts of violence against the government’s mass migration agenda, which has radically changed the demographics of Ireland and has put significant strains on public resources.
The decision to scrap the hate speech provision has been hailed as a victory for liberty throughout the West in general. American professor Michael Shellenberger described the turn of events as a “massive Free Speech Victory,” adding: “This is wonderful news that gives us momentum to beat back totalitarianism worldwide!”
The populist Irish Freedom Party said in a statement: “The Govt has strangled anti-free speech legislation after the Irish Freedom Party has helped lead the campaign against the draconian measure since 2019. It’s good to get a result, but we need to get rid of all those politicos who want to restrict our freedoms. Vote them out.”
While the government has backed down — at least for now — on most of the new speech restrictions, Justice Minister McEntee said that she is “adamant” that the government press on with plans to implement additional penalties for crimes if there was an element of “hate” involved in their perpetration.
The bill would allow for higher sentences for those convicted of violent crimes against someone based on their so-called “protected characteristics”, such as ethnicity, race, skin colour, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
“If you attack a person, if you commit a crime against a person or a group of people, simply because of who they are, the colour of their skin, where they have come from that there will be a tougher sentence, a harsher sentence at the end of the day,” McEntee said.
The Irish Freedom Party said that the legislation is still “not acceptable” claiming that hate crime laws would create a “two-tier justice system” in Ireland, saying that it would mean “crimes against members of a chosen minority group will be treated more seriously than crimes against ordinary people.”
The campaign group Free Speech Ireland also warned that the government may still seek to criminalise speech, warning that the legislation could still potentially impose penalties for the “denial of genocide”.
“It is a huge victory that the sections of the Hate Speech Bill introducing new sentences for hate speech will be removed. The Bill has become a political hazard for the Government, thanks to everyone who has shown their support for free speech,” the campaign group wrote on X.
“However, the Bill remains problematic in several ways, from the powers granted to seize devices to the criminalisation of debate over genocide. We will be paying close attention to the upcoming amendments in the Seanad.”
