Ireland will not introduce new so-called hate speech laws [criminalizing
opposing views] for the time being, Justice Minister Helen McEntee told
a conference on Saturday, according to Irish media.
The
government first introduced the proposed legislation to parliament two
years ago, and last November made it a priority to strengthen those
anti-hate laws. McEntee admitted that the main obstacle was a legal
definition of "hate".
The proposal will be removed only for now,
she said: "I believe [already existing 'hate' legislation] needs to be
strengthened. However, we need a consensus to do that , and we don't
have that at the moment."
And, "The incitement to hatred element of the bill does not have a consensus, so that will be dealt with at a later stage".
Picture: Helen McEntee © wikicommons, CC BY, #newsBrxpabnkdc