A Dyslogy for Ireland's "Hate Speech" Bill

In several posts over the last few months I've alluded to a piece of legislation making its way through the Irish houses of parliament. The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 (widely referred to as the “hate speech” bill) was a bill which would provide the government with sweeping powers to arrest and convict individuals they suspected of “stirring up hatred” against members of communities defined by one or more protected characteristics. 1 This bill has been enormously controversial throughout its entire lifecycle, with precisely 40% of pollsters in favour and 40% opposed, and no less than Elon Musk pledging to pay the legal fees of anyone prosecuted under it in the event that it passed. It was first proposed in October 2022, passed in the Dáil 2 in April 2023 after several rounds of amendments, and then made its way to the Seanad 3 , where it languished for well over a year, being neither approved nor rejected.

What an unmitigated joy and relief it was two weeks ago, to learn that the bill has officially been shelved by Ireland’s Minister of Justice, Helen McEntee. This specific bill has proved something of an albatross around the government’s neck for months, and not even a change in Taoiseach4 was sufficient to kill it. But a general election is due to be held no later than March of next year, and the incumbent Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition government now finds itself in the unenviable position of needing to hastily course-correct just in time to appeal to the median voter (the budget announcement of two weeks ago, with its generous salary tax cuts, is part of the same drive). After the national embarrassment of a referendum rejected by fully 70% of the electorate, the government is finally cottoning on to the fact that its woke agenda, while enormously popular among progressive think tanks, NGOs and media outlets, is absolute cyanide at the polling station. Of course an effort to save face must be made, and Minister McEntee has committed to still pushing for hate crime legislation in spite of dropping the hate speech bill itself. But it’s also too soon to be doing victory laps, as McEntee has promised to come back for another bite at the apple if she’s reelected.

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