Pauline Tully
Question:
445. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Justice the steps that she has taken regarding the implementation of action 15 equality and choice in the National Disability Inclusion Strategy; if she has undertaken a review of the Prohibition of Incitement To Hatred Act 1989; the details of the enhanced protections that have been put in place for persons with disabilities against hate crime; the details of the guidelines that have been developed and implemented for gardaí and other relevant personnel in relation to engagement with persons with disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12608/22]
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Hate crimes are signal crimes. They tell the victim that they are not safe simply because of who they are. They send the disgusting message to victims that they and people like them are somehow lesser than the rest of us which is unacceptable.
These crimes are motivated by prejudice. They make victims feel afraid for their future, their friends and their families. They lead to a divided society, where whole communities can feel unsafe and angry. It’s important that we recognize the true harm of these crimes and ensure that our legislative framework can tackle them.
In November of 2020 I announced my intention to bring forward new legislation to combat incitement to hatred and hate crime in Ireland. This announcement followed on from the publication of the results of a widespread consultation process, which included in-depth consultations with various civil society and community groups, academics and experts, a public consultation process and a detailed comparative study of approaches to hate crime in five other jurisdictions.
The purpose of the extensive consultation was to ensure my Department could identify how Ireland’s law in this area could be improved, informed by a firm understanding of the lived experience of those impacted by hate incidents.
In total, the Department received 3,600 survey responses and more than 175 detailed written submissions.
The conclusions in the report – which were drawn from submissions provided by experts, professional organisations, community and religious groups, civil society and members of the public –are being used to develop new legislation to deal with incitement to hatred and hate crime.
It should be noted that improvements in our criminal legislation will be one element in a wider suite of measures across all areas of Government, which are designed to address hatred and intolerance in all its forms.
The General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill 2021 was published on 16 April 2021 and it can be accessed on my Department's website.
The Bill will create new, aggravated forms of certain existing criminal offences, where those offences are motivated by prejudice against a protected characteristic. The protected characteristics set out in the General Scheme include disability, as well as race; colour; nationality; religion, ethnic or national origin; sexual orientation; and gender.
I intend to publish the new Hate Crime Bill in the summer.
I wish to inform the Deputy that I have contacted An Garda Síochána for information on the development of guidelines in the service in relation to action 15 of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy, but they have been unable to furnish me with the information within the allocated timeframe. I will follow up with the Deputy as soon as possible to supply this information.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51
I refer to your Parliamentary Question No. 445 of 8 March 2022 asking the steps that have been taken regarding the implementation of action 15 of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy; if a review of the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 has been undertaken; the details of the enhanced protections that have been put in place for persons with disabilities against hate crime; the details of the guidelines that have been developed and implemented for Gardaí and other relevant personnel in relation to engagement with persons with disabilities.
You will recall that at the time, I provided you with information on the development of the new hate crime legislation and I had contacted An Garda Síochána for information on the development of guidelines in the service in relation to action 15 of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy. Unfortunately the information requested from An Garda Síochána was not available by the deadline and I undertook to forward this information to you as soon as I received it.
Action 15 of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy
I am advised by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána’s Human Rights Strategy 2019 to 2022 sets out a plan to help develop the embedding of a recognition of human rights into the day-to-day work of Garda personnel, and in this regard, sets out a number of specific actions, one of which focuses specifically on vulnerable people. The Deputy may wish to note that while a person with a disability is considered a vulnerable person, the term vulnerability may also be applied to people without a disability and is therefore broader in scope and application. The three specific projects under this action are:
- Project 1 - Review of form C84 (A) ‘Custody Record Risk Assessment’ will be conducted in order to evaluate its effectiveness and make recommendations where appropriate.
- Project 2 - Working with the National Office for Suicide Prevention to introduce SafeTALK training to all members of Garda Personnel bearing in mind the potential need to intervene with persons who are vulnerable to self-harm / suicide.
- Project 3 -Working with the deaf community to introduce a process whereby members of this community can interact with An Garda Síochána independently.
I am advised that a national review of form C84 (A), the Custody Record Risk Assessment form, was completed in order to evaluate its effectiveness and make recommendations where appropriate. This review identified that there are four specific areas of vulnerability that must be considered for persons in custody, namely drug addiction, alcohol addiction, mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions. The review of this form made a number of recommendations which will significantly enhance custody procedures to ensure the identification and protection of vulnerable people in Garda custody. The new recommended procedures are designed to elicit as much knowledge as possible regarding the potential vulnerability and level of risk associated with arrested/detained people. The new procedures focus very much on the vulnerability of people in custody, and will further safeguard the rights of vulnerable persons in Garda custody in an accountable manner. This review was presented to the Strategic Human Rights Advisory Committee (SHRAC) chaired by the Garda Commissioner and the recommendations were approved. This progressive development will contribute significantly towards ensuring the equal access to justice for all arrested or detained people.
As all members of An Garda Síochána may at some stage need to intervene with people who are at risk of self-harm or suicide, the SafeTALK training programme is now delivered to all Garda personnel . While the SafeTALK programme has been delivered to all new student Gardaí since 2014, a significantly large portion of the organisation had not had the opportunity to participate in this training. To assess the need and potential benefit of the course across the organisation, it was delivered as a pilot project in four Garda districts. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and it was decided that the training should be rolled out to all Garda members. The National Office for Suicide Prevention agreed to train a number of staff members in the delivery of this programme so that An Garda Síochána could become self-sufficient in delivering this course to its staff.
With regard to Project 3 and the work completed by An Garda Síochána to ensure the deaf community can interact with its service, a pilot scheme was introduced to facilitate communication with deaf people in Cabra and Tralee Garda stations. Garda personnel in these stations have online access to translation services provided by the Irish Remote Interpreting Service, which enables them to communicate directly with the reporting person without the need for a third party to interpret in the first instance. If a statement or detailed report is required, then an Irish Sign Language (ISL) translator will be called to the station to assist in the taking of a report or statement from the person concerned. Information videos were created by An Garda Síochána to highlight the services available at Cabra and Tralee Garda Stations and these have been published on the Garda website and also highlighted by the Irish Deaf Society through their social media channels.
A human rights-based approach to policing training
An Garda Síochána’s Human Rights Strategy 2019 – 2022 undertook to train Garda personnel on human rights issues and create a network of human rights champions. In this regard, a comprehensive training programme was created to train Garda personnel on a human rights based approach to policing. Lessons learned from the review of Form C84 (A) ‘Custody Record Risk Assessment’ meant that specific areas of vulnerability for arrested/detained persons – drug addiction, alcohol addiction, mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions – formed a central component in the training content.
This two-phase training starts with a bespoke academic element, “Policing and Human Rights Law in Ireland,” which was developed in conjunction with the University of Limerick. This course is accredited at Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications. The content is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the rights of vulnerable suspects and victim. There are specific weeks of the course assigned to the topics of equality, victims of crime, vulnerable witnesses and suspects, diversity, and hate crime.
The second phase of the training was developed in collaboration with a number of stakeholders and organisations including:
- ADHD Ireland
- AsIAm – Irelands National Autism Advocacy Service
- Merchants Quay Ireland – Drug and Alcohol Services
- Mental Health Ireland
- National Office for Suicide Prevention
- Dr Blánaid Gavin (neurodiversity)
- Dr Etain Quigley (neurodiversity)
- Missing Person (lived experience)
- Unconscious Bias
Each made a unique contribution informed by their particular expertise. For example, Mental Health Ireland produced a video which provides guidance and information on the lived experience of mental health.
These learning sessions are delivered via the online Learning Management System and to date, 1,500 staff members have had the opportunity to participate in this training and become human rights champions within An Garda Síochána.
