Justice Minister Helen McEntee has been urged to enact long-mooted hate crime legislation "without further delay" following the alleged attack of three gay men in Phoenix Park on Monday. CEO of Outhouse Oisín O’Reilly said Ms McEntee must "stop delaying" the enactment of the hate crime and hate speech bill that was promised before Christmas following the Dublin riots in November last year. “It really underscores the need for the hate crime legislation to be enacted without further delay. According to An Garda Síochána’s 2023 Hate Crime Data and Related Discrimination Motives report, there has been a 12% increase in the number of hate crime and hate-related incidents reported to gardaí in 2023 compared to 2022. Mr O’Reilly said the underreporting of hate crime in Ireland is prominent but the increase in reporting is welcome.

Source: Irish Examiner June 20, 2024 19:41 UTC