The Commission yesterday sent a letter of formal notice to Ireland for only partially transposing the Council Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia (Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA).

The aim of the Framework Decision is to ensure that serious manifestations of racism and xenophobia, such as public incitement to violence or hatred, are punishable by effective, proportionate, and dissuasive criminal penalties throughout the European Union. 

Ireland has allegedly not fully transposed the provisions related to incitement to hatred or violence, including the condoning, denial or gross trivialisation of international crimes and the Holocaust.

Irish law also allegedly does not, or not correctly, qualify the racist or xenophobic motivation as aggravating factors for all criminal offences or ensure that national courts can take this motivation into account when defining the sentences.

Ireland has two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission, otherwise it may send a reasoned opinion to Ireland.

Justice minister Helen McEntee recently dropped plans to legislate on hate speech because of a lack of “consensus” on the issue, but has promised to bring new provisions on hate crime through the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022.