The government is going to pass an amended version of the hate speech bill before the next general election, Taoiseach Simon Harris has insisted.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today With Claire Byrne programme, the Fine Gael leader said that he had decided to pass the bill before March 22nd 2025 – the last possible date a general election can be held legally.
“I have made a decision that we are going to pass a law in this space, I’m very clear on that,” he said.
“Hate crime is not a pretend crime, it is a very real thing. If I want to be tough on law and order and support the Gardaí, that means supporting the Gardai in pursuing all crimes, including hate crimes.
“And when the Gardaí believe they need new laws in this area, it would be a very irresponsible Taoiseach that wouldn’t take that seriously.
“So we will pass the Bill. The Bill will be amended and the Bill will seek to address significant concerns that have been made.”
Numerous government TDs have called for the legislation to be scrapped, including Fine Gael TDs Charlie Flanagan and Michael Ring, and Fianna Fáil TDs Willie O’Dea and James O’Connor. However, Harris said he found this “a little unusual” considering the fact that the legislation was in the Programme for Government, and around 90% of TDs in the Dáil voted for the legislation just last year.
He indicated that he was confused that some TDs were now “running around as if they’ve never heard of the Bill”.
The Taoiseadh added that the government would be discussing how to amend legislation to ensure it doesn’t create “unintended consequences” for free speech and to address “legitimate issues” that people had raised.
Notably, in a recent interview with Gript, Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea said he had not paid “sufficient attention” to the legislation when he voted for it last year, and that when he read it back after the fact he was “absolutely horrified” by its contents.
“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
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Children are needlessly dying in UHL because of an overcrowded and understaffed health service and Simon Harris’s top priority is shutting down free speech and stopping protests. The ordinary people of Ireland need to overthrow this tin pot dictator and take our country back.
Yes, thats his job
Exactly! The guy is out of his depth. Loves the debate team insults and soundbytes. He needs to go very soon. A dangerous individual.
Simon with his Garrett Fitzgerald hair style,ha ha it’s over Simon call the GE now ,drew Harris has sent in the Calvary to clonmel today police vans and cars driving around town , normally never see them , more wasted taxpayers money.
👍👍👍
I would suggest the next poor sod that gets attacked or even worse by a non Irish native then sue the shit out of him and the others responsible for letting unchecked people in sue them on the grounds of hate making irish people and ireland unsafe
the old system is broken the new system that will replace it is growing rapidly
This bill needs to be stopped please mail or ring you politicians and tell them your not voting for them unless this is scrapped…..how much more can we give away in this country
They say, that a long written opinion piece is waiting for approval, and they never approve it! Maybe I will only use X in future!
Quote the Treason act:
https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1939/act/10/enacted/en/print#sec1
So you want us to ask politicians to fix problems caused by politicians? The naivety of voters and their inability to see through to the root of the problem never ceases to amaze me. It appears that those who support and defend so called ‘democracy’ are actually cultists. Its exactly as the mafia bosses designed it. In fairness they couldnt have done a better job
The politicians are the fox in the hen house, they can not be reasoned with they are working from script provided to them by their outside handlers in Brussels and Davos, we need to remove the threat of the fox
I think your right Des,
100% agree the old system is broken and obsolete the new system that will replace it is growing rapidly
The best Qute Whoor Video Ever , ye Ben you could get a educational career with going around to schools teaching kids about dangers to politics and how to vote intelligently,,Paul Hogan would dream of this cracking up stuff 😀
Countdown to destruction…….he/him harris has just signed his own death (of his political life/fraud) warrant by endorsing this censorship bill.
Fine gael as a party have no values any more all they want is free for all economics free open borders for every tom dick and Harry to come into they’re a bunch of communists not what the original fg was meant to be about
They are not communists. They are neo-liberals of the American kind. Not a Nationalist bone in their bodies. Communists align with them in their Internationalism. Globalism Free-for-all economics is the complete opposite of Communism. It’s a Libertarian or Neo-Liberal ideology.
A Libertarian Economic Policy works well for the general population WITHIN their own countries borders i.e. under a Nationalist Government that has the people of it’s Nation best interests at heart. The people of the Nation have a shared values culture. It’s more of a level playing field and while people are competing with each other they also working together under the principle of collaboration. This is enabled by having a high trust society and a shared culture.
We had that in living memory. Older posters here will know exactly what this is like. To give a simplistic but real example: a number of small-medium size farms neighbouring each other. They are competing to produce what will in effect be sold on the open market. Go back a few decades when there was little to no regulation and you had effectively Free-for-all economics in this area. But, importantly, you also had a community of kinsfolk, who had shared values (including their religious values) that collaborated and helped each other at times of need e.g. harvest time.
This doesn’t work when you import people from different cultures who see this approach as a weakness to be exploited.
I agree but having politicians who take their orders from Davos, Brussels, Zurich, Washington etc..etc.. does not help matters
I am a recovering FG voter. This guy is speeding up tge withdrawal symptoms
Me too ✋️
This legislation is a vile pernicious piece of toxic cancer on the life blood of our democracy. Vote these bastards out because your life depends on it.
I agree with you wholeheartedly Vote The Badtards Out
“WE ARE GOING TO VOTE ALL OF YEE OUT AND TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY AND ROLE BACK EVERY OUNCE OF TOTALITARIAN GARBAGE INCLUDING YOUR STUPID HATE SPEECH BILL”
Censored!
By defining hate with reference to identifying characteristics this Bill is divisive and contrary to article 40 of the constitution.
Challenge tge Constitutionaloty
A40 bunreacht
A10 Echr
Could end up bankrupt if the case is lost and costs awarded.
blueshirts again and again,, freedom of speech , vulture funds , tax on school kids shoes (John bruton),if someone can correct me but fg that organised the preference voting system back in 1920s which suits the big parties, that why their in power a hundred years,,to beat these guys at election’s is to flood your district with independents and give 12345 preference to independent s that knocks out ff/fg 👍💚💚💚😀
I can’t understand how so few in power can dictate to the majority of people who are struggling in their lives with all the issues we face daily just trying to survive, raise our children, care for our seniors and deal with sickness tragedies and bereavement and mental health worries and poverty. Taxed on everything, working to buy basics. Trying to have a little comfort and the few celebrations we all deserve. While those in what they think is power, blast off on a high to intimidate us with a hate speech law. This is no longer a democracy it is a blatant dictatorship shame on those bringing this in. An arrogance most foul with no consultation with the people of Ireland
Exactly, you have said it all in a paragraph but they don’t and won’t listen. He’s about to give the guards more power to go about silencing us and removing what liberties we have to talk back. we will be just like the people in Northern Ireland during the times of the RUC
Taoiseach Harris is deceiving the public. Unless your can read someone’s mind and determine their motives, there is no way to prove that hatred motivates certain words. Our laws against assault, murder, rape, slander, arson and the likes – which can all be proved – are more than adequate to deal with the harmful actions motivated by hatred. However, this is despicable form of censorship to prevent criticism of the bad things people do and the harm caused by perversions that are being promoted in the name of being progressive and liberated.
The tik tok co-taois is worse than Varanker.
Sinn Fein voted for this
Stifle the Truth at all costs. This legislation is all about making people afraid to speak. Anything that they disagree with will be hate speech….resist these tyrants.
It didn’t take long for the him to show his fascists fangs.
Count Draculy of the 18 covids
Only a TRAITOR would vote for FG or FF in the local elections!
NOT ONE VOTE
Might as well said!
“We’re going to alienate the electorate again and pass the hatespeech bill!”
Martin backs it as well!
hamhead Martin does what he’s told
Am I the only one who is a little suspicious about the small masked demo outside Minister O’Gorman’s house last Thursday? It got a lot of publicity and was perhaps a factor in Simple Simon justifying moving on the hate speech bill.. The well known ‘agitators’ who travel to protests dont wear masks and they make videos in which their faces are clear.
Were the protesters masked because they were govt party members helping out their parties or paid actors? Did they ring the gardai/media pretending to be a local resident when they were in place? There was no damage down only some banners attached to railings and these were taken down when requested to by the gardai. It doesn’t seem genuine to me. People angry enough to go to the private home of a politician would surely have more people there and they’d be a lot of shouting and one at least would want to be arrested!
Good observation
That would make sense – to sway opinion – a kind of dirty tricks campaign.
Our Garda chief would know a thing or 2 about dirty tricks?
This is EXACTLY what I and others think
I wouldn’t put it past them I mean there clutching at straws now because they can see they are loosing more people are waking up
Tea boy has got his orders from his masters. Get it done they told him and he said , yes master, at once master.
The government has already been shown to have lied directly to the people on a matter of constitutional law- namely the advice they received in advance of the referendum. They should go immediately. They are now in contempt of both the people and the constitution they are sworn to uphold.
This is all about shutting down the migrant protests
The Australian Prime Minister is in the news today trying to force Elon Musk to remove the video of the Christian Priest being attacked at the pulpit by a stabbee that happened in Melbourne recently.
He doesn’t just want it removed from Twitter within Australia. He wants it taken down world-wide.
Governments that want this Hate Speech Laws don’t want the public to find out what’s happening. There have been some horrific attacks all around Europe that the majority of Irish people don’t know about. Video evidence is powerful and the Governments know that the people being aware of what ‘enrichment’ really means is a threat to their Mass Immigration Ponzi scheme.
Much of the lower level violence, intimidation, crime and anti-social behaviour is also being recorded and shared on social media. The MSM are not keeping us informed.
Melbourne was the scene of many horrific events under Dan Andrews
And Humza Harris commits political hari kari… For a clever man he really is impossibly stupid.
An amendment requires another vote?
Its just disgusting that depsite the now well expressed opposition of the Irish people to this despicable piece of legislation that an unelected Taoiseach would knowingly push it. Yet again the biggest threat to democracy are the governemnt themselves. The word traitor is used a lot on social media but more and more it is being proven a fitting moniker for Harris et al.
Is he drunk on power??! Asking for a friend
Will this mean that only nice things can be said about em.Like “you’re doing a great job” or “if I must say, that’s a lovely blouse you’ve on Teaboy, I mean Simon” 🙄
They literally need to be over thrown now. They intend to completely destroy the country before they are decimated in the GE. Who’s orders are they following and why. Search for this information and get the real picture of what they are intending to do. They have shown there hand now and need to be stopped.
The filth in power here are waiting to see how things pan out in Scotland.
Nothing will go through I guarantee it.
Still I have FREE SPEECH and I can use it. I am not of the far-right, nor the far-left, but simply an Irishman, who wants his children to grow up in a free Ireland! My Grandfather fought and was a cripple all his life, in order to achieve this precious gift to the Irish people. So let me use this free speech to express myself as a reaction to this farce. You can use this passage as an example in the future as ‘justifiable protective hate-speech’…
It is not a crime to hate a satanist! I hate anyone, who will attempt to curtail my freedoms for his own gain! A Hitler, a Mussolini, a Goebbels, a Schwab, a Varadkar or a Harris. I don’t care what you call him, if he has declared war on Ireland’s freedoms, then yes… I hate him!
But, don’t use these other demons to glorify a simpleton like Harris! The man is a misused half-wit, who would sell his granny for a ‘sniff’ at power! His treacherous behaviour needs to be punished, along with his colleagues! Everybody has to talk about these backward eejits, as throw-backs to their equally farcical & fascist Fine Gael Blue-Shirts they are! They have proven themselves to be scumbags! On every public outing, it is the national duty of every Irish man, woman and child to show the FG traitors, what we think of these treasonous wet rags, who have sold their souls to non-Irish globalist-satanists, for a few pieces of a glittering power. They should all rightfully shout out: ‘Freedom for the Irish’! Let their leader know that we are Irish and someone like him will never beat us! He needs to be rejected as an Irishman! These excuses for politicians were given their chance and their party is a stain on the Irish landscape. No punishment is too severe for them in my eyes! Article 39 is meant for such cases of treason, as we are now observing! Currently it foresees, not less than 40 years in prison. I suggest bringing back the death penalty retrospectively, through legal and democratically elected means, just for their leader and those, who dare vote for this travesty! Afterwards, we can ban this death penalty for treason again, and let this be an example on the heads of all, who dare to cross our free republic in this fashion!
The Treason act:
https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1939/act/10/enacted/en/print#sec1
This ridiculous bill is dead in the water, Harris is reading from his script, that is all
God protect us from young, impulsive, bull-headed politicians especially when they haven’t learned from Scotland’s experience!
Whether Willie O’Dea pays sufficient attention to his job is hardly An Taoiseach’s problem 🙄.
Neidin, when government TDs are coming out against the legislation it is indeed the Taoiseach’s problem.
Was Neidin not a donkey? Perhaps a nodding donkey that never struck oil? Asking for an eternally curious friend
Willie O Dea is a solicitor, a veteran politician and has in the past topped the polls
Jim O Callaghan is also qualified in law. Handsome and clever, in my view he would be a more credible leader of FF than Martin
I wouldn’t look to Willie ‘Parish Pump’ O’Dea as a great white hope if I were you. He was just indulging in a bit of post-referenda virtue signaling. Sad to know politicians such as himself aren’t giving legislation the consideration they deserve though 🙁.
Moronic and flippant