Sir, – The Minister for Justice tells us that “we all have a right to be safe, to feel safe”, and is therefore bringing forward a new hate crime Bill (”Stronger laws against hate crimes planned to make convictions easier “, News, July 13th). The Minister states: “There would have to be safeguards to protect free speech and debate, but a high bar would have to be created.”
While most ordinary decent people want everyone to be allowed to live in peace and security, those who value free speech should be very wary of this Bill. Because while this “high bar” may be set such that the ordinary cut and thrust of debate will be protected now, that bar may be very easily lowered in the future.
How can the Minister assure us that speech that will be protected by her “high bar” will not become hate speech as a result of pressure brought to bear on a future minister by any one of the people who are members of a current or future “protected group” or who have a “protected characteristic”. The answer is that she can’t.
Those who shout loudest are most likely to be listened to, and with many politicians basing their deeply held beliefs on the latest opinion poll or what’s trending on Twitter, it should not come as a shock if in years to come this will be seen as a very poorly thought-out decision. – Yours, etc,
TREVOR TROY,
Baile Átha Buí,
Co na Mí
Sir, – In response to “The Uber files shine spotlight on Irish lobbying regulations” (News, July 12th), a closer look at State’s official lobbying register would reveal more deeply embedded lobbying networks.
At the core of Government policy we have extensive State funding for NGOs whose main activity is to lobby the Government for ideological and social change.
The Irish Government pays for the lobbying, often in the form of research grants and inclusion funding.
In appreciation of their insider status, some of these NGOs have called for the denial of “legitimate political and media representation” for those who hold a different point of view.
On June 10th, 2021, the UK’s Employment Appeal Tribunal found that the right to be gender critical is protected in law. It found that people have a right to state that they believe biological sex to be real.
In Ireland it may soon be a hate crime to believe that biological sex is real.
Uber are amateurs by comparison.– Yours, etc,
SEAMUS O’ CALLAGHAN,
Carlow.