Simon Harris dismisses Trump, Musk concerns over new Irish hate speech laws

Minister for Justice says any time Trumps or Musk ‘have a different view to you ... is not a bad day at the office’

Minister for Justice Simon Harris has dismissed concerns raised by Donald Trump Jnr and Elon Musk about Ireland’s new hate crime legislation. The proposals were described by Donald Trump Jnr as “insane” and by Mr Musk as “very concerning” on Twitter earlier this week.

“Any time Donald Trump and Elon Musk have a different view to you, that’s not a bad day at the office,” Mr Harris said. “Funnily enough, I don’t take my political philosophy from the Trump family or from Mr Musk or his associates.”

The new legislation – the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 – will criminalise any intentional or reckless communication or behaviour that is likely to incite violence or hatred against a person or persons because they are associated with a “protected characteristic”.

Mr Harris said the aim of the new law, which is currently going through the Seanad, was not to control people’s thoughts, as has been suggested by some critics. Rather, it was about ensuring people were not targeted by incitement to hatred and the physical violence towards minority groups that often results from incitement to hatred.

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Speaking in the Dáil last week, Paul Murphy TD (PBP) said a section of the Bill created the possibility of a person being criminalised “purely for having material that is hateful, without that material being communicated to the public”. This resulted in “the creation of a thought crime,” he said. That contained “a dangerous reversal of the burden of proof”, where the burden is now placed on the accused to overturn the presumption that the material was not intended for personal use.

However, speaking to reporters at a Garda event in Dublin on Friday, Mr Harris rejected that interpretation.

“There’s not much that the opposition and the Government agree on [yet] overwhelming the Dáil passed this legislation because it’s not about policing thought. It’s not about stopping freedom of expression. What it is about, though, is keeping people safe and making sure people can go about their lives and not be discriminated against ... seeing them often be physically assaulted or incitement of hatred in relation to them.”

He added freedom of speech and freedom of expression were protected rights in the Republic – “a country that values freedom”.

“It’s absolutely a right to say offensive things, that’s absolutely a right in a democracy. But it’s not your right, absolutely not your right, to say something that incites hatred or danger to another person, absolutely not your right to try and whip up homophobic activity and violence.”

There had been an “attempt by some to misrepresent” what is in the new legislation and “best wishes to them, it’s their right in a democracy to do that”.

The new legislation will update laws criminalising hate speech and legislate against hate crimes for the first time in Irish law. The “protected characteristics” under the new legislation include race, colour, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

A person who seeks to incite hatred against a person or group with one of these characteristics may be guilty of an offence that could carry a penalty of up to five years in prison.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times