Martin says he does not support scrapping hate speech bill

Tánaiste Micheál Martin will not be calling for the hate speech bill to be “jettisoned completely,” claiming that this would be a “knee-jerk u-turn”.

The Fianna Fáil leader was speaking during an interview on RTÉ’s The Week In Politics programme on Sunday, during which the government’s controversial hate speech bill was raised.

Martin said he accepted that “legitimate questions” had been raised regarding freedom of speech in the context of the bill – questions that needed “to be clarified without question” – but he added that the government would be using the 1989 Incitement to Hatred Act as a “base and a frame from which to work.”

“I’m not going to go into a knee-jerk u-turn and say ‘We’re going to jettison it completely’ or any of that – because this is something that people had supported early on,” he said.

“Legitimate questions have been raised, I accept that, and I think that’s what parliament is for – to go through those.”

During the interview, it was put to the Tánaiste that some of his Fianna Fáil TDs, such as Willie O’Dea and Jim O’Callaghan, along with Seanad leader Lisa Chambers, had been critical of the legislation, urging significant amendments. Specifically, they had called for the word ‘hatred’ to be defined within the bill, and asked for a precise definition of protected gender characteristics to be added.

Currently the legislation criminalises ‘incitement to hatred’, but does not define the term, simply saying that “hatred means hatred”. Similarly, it seeks to protect genders ‘other than those of male and female’, but those other genders are not listed or explained legally.

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says his government has "no official position" on how many genders there are, even though genders "other than male or female" are protected categories under his government's hate speech bill.#gript pic.twitter.com/wH0kKmUnLP

— gript (@griptmedia) June 26, 2023

Asked for his thoughts on whether these terms should be defined, Martin said that Justice Minister Helen McEntee would be “coming back with amendments,” and that he would to see the bill referred back to the Justice Committee.

He also slammed Sinn Féin for doing a “complete u-turn” on the bill, having previously supported it, and then coming out against it recently, as highlighted recently by Gript.

"You could theoretically be found guilty of a criminal offence and jailed if you criticise an illegal immigrant – that was Sinn Féin’s contribution to this legislation."@Ben_Scallan comments on Sinn Féin's proposed amendments to Helen McEntee's hate speech bill. pic.twitter.com/RD06QzT9G1

— gript (@griptmedia) April 3, 2024

“I see other political parties have done a complete u-turn,” he said.

“Sinn Féin supported this legislation at one stage – they actually wanted to strengthen it, in terms of migrants being covered as well. And then they come out with a 180 degree u-turn and say ‘Now we’re totally against it.’”

Defending the bill, he went on to add that it had received popular support at one point.

“I’m conscious that in the House people supported this legislation, and spoke favourably about the idea of hate crime legislation,” he said.

Notably, the hate speech bill ended up passing in the Dáil last April by a landslide of almost 89%, with 110 TDs voting in favour of the legislation, and only 14 opposing it.

However, in an interview with Gript last week, Fianna Fáil veteran Willie O’Dea said that the hate speech bill was “rushed through the Dáil” and that he “certainly didn’t pay sufficient attention to it.” He said he was “absolutely horrified” when he read through the legislation, and that he now regrets supporting it.

“The hate speech bill was rushed through the Dáil. I certainly didn’t pay sufficient attention to it…but when I read it I was absolutely horrified."

Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea wasn't aware what was in the hate speech bill he voted for, and says he now regrets supporting it. pic.twitter.com/ioQP5dFJPL

— gript (@griptmedia) April 9, 2024

Asked about these comments, Martin criticised O’Dea.

“People need to know what they’re voting for, and people need to examine legislation and raise it well in advance,” he said.

“And my view is we can provide an opportunity for people to look at this again through the Justice Committee, particularly given that the Minister is bringing amendments.”