The controversial new anti-hate speech laws will not take away the right to offend others, the Justice Minister claimed yesterday.
Helen McEntee also said that someone who offends another person by misgendering them would not face criminalisation under the new Bill.
But it is still not clear how it will be decided what amounts to hate as there is no definition in the new legislation which means the public might not be aware they are committing a crime.
Read More: Gardai 'blowing into breathalysers themselves and recording it as a checkpoint'
This means that it will be up to the gardai and the Director of Public Prosecutions to determine what hate is leading to claims that they will become the thought police.
Ms McEntee said: “This is not about policing people’s thoughts or opinions and genuinely held beliefs. There will still be an ability for people to discuss and to criticise protected characteristics.
“There will still be an ability for people to offend other people – you’re not going to have a right to not be offended after this.”
Minister McEntee told Newstalk’s On the Record with Gavan Reilly that the Bill is an attempt to modernise existing incitement-to-hatred laws.
But the proposed new legislation has been labelled by some as an attempt to prohibit free speech and debate and was criticised by members of the Seanad this week.
There has been much criticism because nowhere in the Bill is it clearly defined what “hatred” against a protected group or person means yet those convicted of it will face hefty fines or even a jail sentence.
Ms McEntee said this criticism is not accurate as people “have an understanding of what hatred means”, and she was advised by the Attorney General to not attempt to define hatred in the legislation.
She added: “If you think about hatred, it’s not a sign of mild feeling. It’s not a mild disliking for somebody.”
The minister denied she has backed down after pressure from the Green Party over a new Bill which would allow the roll out of facial recognition technology and its use on the body cameras of gardai.
She said: “Discussions are still ongoing. I think we are all of the view that gardai have body cameras and that they are rolled out as quickly as possible and I am very clearly on the record as saying that in gathering all of the information through body cameras we should have facial recognition to be able to access this information as quickly as possible.
“I am still working that through with colleagues and until those discussions have concluded I don’t think it would be appropriate to get into it any further.”
READ NEXT:
Heatwave update as weather expert pinpoints possible return of warmer weather
Disturbing rise in female killings as Mirror analysis uncovers worrying trend
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
