Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 May 2017
154. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps she is taking to address hate crime; her plans to introduce legislation on this matter; if the significant discrepancy between the number of incidents recorded by the European Network Against Racism and in the Garda PULSE system has been brought to her attention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19837/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are mechanisms in place to deal with hate motivated crime. Where a criminal offence such as assault, criminal damage or a public order offence is committed against a person based on their race, religion, colour, ethnicity or some other ground, the offence is prosecuted through the wider criminal law. It is also accepted that such an offence is more serious on account of the hate or prejudice motivating the crime and Irish courts do consider evidence of a crime being motivated by hate or prejudice as an aggravating factor at sentencing.
With respect to legislation establishing hate crime as a specific and punishable crime, it is important that any legislation which is introduced will allow for effective prosecution of these type of offences.
In the area of policing, the Garda Racial Intercultural and Diversity Office (GRIDO) has responsibility for coordinating, monitoring and advising on all aspects of policing Ireland's diverse communities. GRIDO monitors the reporting and recording of hate and racist crime on a continual basis. Garda Ethnic Liaison Officers (ELOs) are appointed to work with minority communities at local level throughout the country. These officers combined with GRIDO play a fundamental role in liaising with minority groups and work in partnership to encourage tolerance, respect and understanding within communities in the pursuit of preventing the commission of hate and racist crime. GRIDO and ELOs provide advice and assistance to victims of hate or racist crime where required or deemed necessary.
With regard to the recording of crime incidents on PULSE, it should be noted that PULSE is a system which records crime data. By contrast, I understand that the reports published by ENAR include not only reports of criminal acts, but also a range of other matters including incidents of verbal abuse and discrimination. While these incidents may have a racist motivation they will not all amount to criminal offences. Therefore the data published by ENAR and the crime data recorded on PULSE are not directly comparable.
The Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration, an Office of my Department, is the focal point for the Government's commitment on anti-racism as a key aspect of integration, diversity management and broader national social policy. A new Migrant Integration Strategy was published on 7 February, 2017. The Integration Strategy includes a number of actions to promote intercultural awareness and to combat racism and xenophobia. It includes an action to review the current legislation on racially motivated crime with a view to strengthening the law on hate crime. An open Call for Proposals was held under the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund in September to November 2016. Actions that combat racism are identified as a priority in Ireland's National Programme under the Fund. Some of the projects selected are focusing on actions to combat racism. A call for applications for national funding to promote integration has also been held. Activities to combat racism and xenophobia will also be funded through this mechanism.
