JUSTICE MINISTER HELEN McEntee has said that fears about the impacts of proposed hate speech legislation are unfounded and that “people are not being locked up en masse” in countries that already have similar laws.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme today, McEntee was asked about comments from Taoiseach Simon Harris on possibly amending the bill which has become a point of controversy among Government TDs. 

Listening to Justice Minister Helen McEntee on @morningireland , good to hear she is considering amendments to the Hate Speech Bill. Had Gov and opposition Senators not intervened last year the Bill would be law now. Gov senators, myself included, raised concerns over lack of…

— Lisa Chambers (@lichamber) April 11, 2024

The proposed new laws would bolster existing legislation against hate speech by strengthening the legal recognition of hatred in the criminal justice system. 

McEntee was asked about the example of Scotland, where similar legislation has recently come into effect, and the lack of a specific definition of hate in the Department of Justice’s bill. 

“Whether it’s Scotland or the UK or any other country where they already have these laws, people are not being locked up en masse,” McEntee said.

“I mean, this idea that people’s opinions are going to be criminalized, it’s not true. It hasn’t transpired in other countries. It hasn’t transpired here,” she said in reference to Ireland’s already existing laws. 

“What’s been proposed is to update them,” she said.

McEntee also said she understood that people have “valid concerns about freedom of speech” and “making sure that we’re not criminalizing opinions” and that she has been taking those views on board. 

“But again, this is about making sure when people are committing crimes there’s a punishment there for them.”