New hate speech laws will not “prevent people from expressing views, opinions or facts” in “artistic or political or cultural ways”, Justice Minister Helen McEntee has said.
It comes following pushback from certain quarters over the legislation that is currently progressing through the Oireachtas.
It will criminalise any intentional or reckless communication or behaviour that is likely to incite violence or hatred towards someone with a protected characteristic. This includes race, colour, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
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Some groups have argued that it will “diminish free speech”.
However, speaking outside Government Buildings, Ms McEntee insisted that the Government is working to protect people who are discriminated against.
“There's a lot of commentary on what is happening in other jurisdictions, there is a lot of commentary on culture wars that are potentially happening.
“What we need to do is rise above that. Even names that have been put to me, be it JK Rowling or others, these are not people who have been prosecuted. These are not people that have had charges brought against them.
“This is commentary that is happening in a public domain.
“While that happens, we're actually forgetting about the people that are at the crux of this legislation.
“There are people in this country who don't want to leave their house because they're afraid. “That's nothing to do with commentary and culture wars that might be happening. It’s because of their race, it's because of their sexual orientation, because of their nationality, because they have a disability.
“This legislation is about protecting them from hate crimes, where they’re physically assaulted, where there are assaults on their property and other forms of crimes, but also where there's language used that incites that type of violence against another person.
“Political discourse, debate, a lot of the commentary that you refer to in these culture wars, that's not what we're talking about.
“We're not preventing people from expressing views, expressing opinions, expressing facts, doing so for various different reasons be it an artistic or political or cultural way.
“This is about the most extreme forms of where that language then turns into a hate crime.
“I don't believe this will have a chilling effect. I think those culture wars will continue no matter what you do. I think that language and engagement on certain issues that seems to be at the fore at the moment will continue.”
Minister McEntee disagreed with the suggestion that the “vast majority of people” do not want hate crime laws.
During a debate in the Seanad on Tuesday, there were concerns that the word “hate” was not being defined in the legislation.
Ms McEntee said that there is a “clear understanding” of what the word means by the gardaí and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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