Bigots, racists and homophobes will get up to five years in jail if convicted under Ireland’s new hate laws, we can reveal.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee confirmed yesterday she will bring the legislation before the Dail within a few weeks. It comes after a spate of attacks against members of the LBGTQI community in Dublin over the summer and a growing number of other hate crimes around the country.
The new bill will create for the first time in Ireland specific hate crime offences. They will be in the guise of aggravated forms of existing criminal offences, where perpetrators are motivated by prejudice towards a “protected characteristic” such as race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity and disability.
