Vol. 549 No. 2
4 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress which has been made regarding the review of the Prohibition of Incitement to Racial, Religious or National Hatred Act, 1989; when he expects the review to be completed; the further action he proposes to combat racism, having regard to the increasing number of racist statements and racially motivated attacks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6118/02]
As the Deputy is aware, I initiated a review of the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act, 1989, which prohibits actions intended to stir up or cause hatred. This review is being carried out in co-operation with the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism. Submissions to the Department concerning the current operation of the Act and proposals for amendment of the legislation are being considered as part of the review.
While progress has been made on the review, two recent developments will have to be taken into account before the review is concluded.
This answer is an exact copy of the Minister's reply in the Official Report of last December.
On 28 November 2001, the European Commission presented a proposal for a Council framework decision on combating racism and xenophobia. It is intended that the framework decision will replace an existing joint action concerning action to combat racism and xenophobia.
Negotiations on the framework decision have commenced.
Negotiations on the framework decision have commenced. Does Deputy Howlin wish to read the reply or will I?
This is the same reply I received last year.
The Minister without interruption.
It continues "The Council of Europe has established a new committee on"– the Minister has the answer.
Deputy Howlin, please allow the Minister to continue without interruption.
I am not to blame if Deputy Howlin tables the same question as before.
We expect progress.
If he tables the same question, he will get the same answer with the progress when I come to it.
There has been no action. The Minister has done nothing.
People are being beaten up on the streets.
Deputy Shatter, we are dealing with Priority Questions and this is Deputy Howlin's question.
Does Deputy Howlin wish to listen to the reply or not?
Priority Questions are governed by Standing Orders.
The Minister gave the same reply, verbatim, last year.
I have no intention of wast ing the House's time if the Deputy does not wish to hear the reply.
This is the same answer that I received on 12 December. It is clear that no progress has been made on one of the most important measures which affect this society and for which the Minister is responsible, namely, the prohibition of incitement to racial hatred. People are being attacked on our streets, a Chinese citizen has died and this week a case in Cork involved a woman who cannot conceive children because of a racial attack.
Is the Minister aware of a report published by Amnesty International on racism in Ireland which states that a review of the legislation is urgently needed and that the Minister has sat on this review for years? It also states that of all non-nationals polled the level of racist intimidation and attacks are alarmingly high. A total of 78% of those polled have experienced racism and 80% agree that racism is a serious problem.
If I had been allowed to finish I would have advised the Deputy of the reason this matter is taking longer than he might wish. We must take account of developments at European level. A Council framework decision was published last November, but we were under the impression that it was going to be published for some time before that.
We have to await final agreement on the text of the framework decision which may be some months away before we will be in position to fully assess its implications for our legislation and the review already under way. The final text of the protocol to the Council of Europe convention on cybercrime will also have to be considered in the context of the legislative review. That protocol is expected to be finalised before the end of April 2002.
The issue of racism on the Internet had been left over from the discussion on the cybercrime convention because of the difficult issues involved. I could hardly be expected to move unilaterally on an issue as important as this. I have to take account of movement within the EU. In that respect it is true, and I have said so on a number of occasions, that the Incitement to Hatred Act, as presently constituted, is not sufficient to deal with the problem. There has been an increase in the number of prosecutions. I understand that there have been about five such prosecutions, but I accept that this figure is too low. There is a problem with the legislation and we are moving ahead with a public awareness campaign on racism. I assure Deputy Howlin that this matter is being treated extremely seriously, but we must take account of what is happening at European level before we can finally decide on the shape of our legislation into the future.
Is the Minister accepting that we have a serious problem with racism, that there is no specific racist offence in Irish law and that no legislation will be introduced before the next election to combat this glaring anomaly?
The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act deals with the whole question of racism. During the lifetime of this Dáil I introduced more legislation in this area than any of my predecessors. We introduced the Employment Equality Act on which the previous Minister, former Deputy Mervyn Taylor, worked hard. We also introduced the Equal Status Act which deals with discrimination against individuals in terms of employment and the provision of services. We were in a position to ratify the UN convention on all forms of racism because we had these legislative provisions in place.
I accept Deputy Howlin's comment that more is required. I fully accept that there is a need to update the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act, but I cannot do so unilaterally. As to whether or not there is widespread racism, it is not something which I believe is endemic in the Irish people. Some people are certainly inclined to racism and might even be racist. I do not doubt that, but such people are in the minority. The dispersal, for example, of asylum seekers across the country resulted in general terms in a very good welcome which is proof that racism is not rampant.
