Hate Crime

A group campaigning for Traveller and Roma rights has expressed disappointment that the government has abandoned plans to legislate on hate speech. Justice minister Helen McEntee announced on the weekend that hate speech laws could not be brought forward in the absence of a "consensus" on the matter

A standalone hate crime bill will not be brought forward in Northern Ireland despite a recommendation from a judge-led review. Justice minister Naomi Long yesterday told MLAs that there was "insufficient time and resource" to introduce a standalone bill, but committed to making significant reforms t

Landmark legislation on hate crime and hate speech is no longer expected to make it through the Oireachtas before the next election, according to reports. The timetable for the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 has repeatedly slipped since it was first p

A coalition of civil society groups has urged the government to press ahead with its hate crime bill following new statistics showing a rise in recorded hate crime for a second consecutive year. The Coalition Against Hate Crime, comprising 23 civil society organisations which represent communities i

Landmark new legislation will "protect those who are most vulnerable to hate crime and hate speech", justice minister Helen McEntee has told the Immigrant Council of Ireland's annual integration conference. Officially opening the conference at the LinkedIn Community Space in Dublin this morning, Mrs

A rise in the number of hate crimes reported to the PSNI in the past year has been described as "deeply worrying" by human rights campaigners. The PSNI and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) today published hate crime figures covering the period from 1 April 2022 and 31 Marc

Landmark new legislation to combat hate crime and hate speech — with a new provision designed to explicitly protect freedom of expression — has been published. The Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences Bill 2022 published today includes a number of key changes since the gene

Landmark new hate crime legislation will not now require proof of a defendant's motivation for committing an offence, the justice minister has announced. Helen McEntee said the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Crime) Bill 2022 would now include an objective "demonstration

A public consultation launched today is seeking views on the model and scope of proposed hate crime legislation to be brought forward in the next Northern Ireland Assembly mandate. A major judge-led review recommended in 2020 that Northern Ireland should adopt a statutory aggravation model of hate c

New hate crime legislation is being drawn up without sufficient consultation with key affected groups, the Coalition Against Hate Crime has said. The coalition, which is led by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), has raised concerns over just one session of the Oireachtas justice committee

A suite of hate crime guides for use in the workplace have been published by Northern Ireland's Department of Justice after being developed in collaboration with the Labour Relations Agency. The three separate guides offer practical support in circumstances where a member of staff becomes a victim o

Landmark legislation introducing a statutory aggravation model for hate crime in Ireland has been approved by the Cabinet. Justice Minister Helen McEntee today published the general scheme of the Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill 2021 which, if approved, will become Ireland's only specific legislat

Legislation introducing a statutory aggravation model for hate crime will be brought to the Cabinet by Easter next year, Justice Minister Helen McEntee has said. The minister announced her legislative plans today as she published the findings of the public consultation on hate speech and hate crime,

Northern Ireland should overhaul its hate crime laws to adopt a statutory aggravation model similar to that in Scotland, a major judge-led review has concluded. Judge Desmond Marrinan was appointed last summer to carry out the independent review, which was first promised in 2017 following calls from

Consideration should be given to including a specific freedom of expression defence in hate crime laws, the PSNI has suggested. In the force's response to the consultation on hate crime laws, it said legislation "should equally balance the human rights of all within society".