Ireland’s blasphemy laws ‘least restrictive in the world’

The US Commission on International Religious Freedoms (UCIRF) examined the 71 countries with blasphemy laws and their compatibility with international human rights laws.

Ireland had the least restrictive laws, while Iran and Pakistan - which both have the death penalty for blasphemy - were most restrictive.

Human rights consultant Joelle Fiss, who co-authored the report, said it was unlikely that someone intending to blaspheme in Ireland would be prosecuted.

Nobody has been prosecuted for blasphemy under the Defamation Act 2009, for which an offender can be fined up to €25,000.

However, Ms Fiss (pictured) called for the law to be repealed in the interest of safeguarding debate.

She told the Irish independent: “Ireland should repeal its blasphemy law to reaffirm that debating ideas, or even criticising religions, is not equivalent to inciting to hatred.”