
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee: ‘These crimes are motivated by prejudice.’
For the first time in the history of the State it will become a specific criminal offence, with longer prison terms, to commit a hate crime based on the colour of a person's skin, sexual orientation or their gender, including gender expression or identity.
Other new "protected characteristics" from which a hate-based conviction can result include a victim's race, nationality, religion, ethnic and national origin, and any disability.
The new offences, set to be provided for under the Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill 2021, are the first of their kind in the Republic. Minister for Justice Helen McEntee is due to publish the general scheme of the Bill on Friday morning.














Comment: It's a short slide from attempting to police harmful speech into censorship.