Government welcomes research into Irish hate crime legislation

The Government has welcomed the findings of in-depth research into the prosecution and punishment of hate crime in Ireland.

The Life Cycle of a Hate Crime research project, which examined five EU jurisdictions, has now published its country report on Ireland.

The research was conducted by a consortium including the Hate and Hostility Research Group at University of Limerick and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL).

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said the report “is a hugely important piece of research, and makes a series of recommendations on how our criminal justice system can do better in combatting hatred”.

Mr Flanagan added: “These recommendations include changes to legislation on incitement to hatred and sentencing, better reporting and recording of hate-motivated crimes, enhanced procedures for the investigation of such crimes, and training and guidelines for prosecutors. They are a very valuable contribution to the development of improved policy and procedures in this important area.

“The Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 is already being reviewed by my Department and this report will of course feed into that process.

“More generally, I am making arrangements for this report and its recommendations to be urgently examined by my Department, in consultation with all of the relevant agencies, including of course the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, with the aim of bringing forward proposals to address the findings of the report.”