Thread by @brandubh4

The Seanad is getting ready now.

Helen McEntee the minister for justice is speaking. She is introducing the bill.

She believes that there is a small minority of people who are responsible for hate crime.

According to her victims of crime motivated by hate suffer more trauma.

She says we need to provide a safe, fair and inclusive country.

(Just not for women and children!)

Any criticism of this bill misinformation and is made by fringe commentators, apparently.

She claims that she is not seeking to change any already existing definitions.

(Rubbish)

She says we're not going to illegalise the right to offend people.

(That's literally the whole point of the bill. Does she have any clue about what she is talking about?)

(She is just lying about the contents of the bill.)

Now McEntee is claiming that the bill states there must be evidence of someone's intentions to distribute "hateful" material.

(That's not what the bill says)

(The bill states that if someone is found in posession of "hateful" material it is up to them to prove they did not have any intent to distribute it. What McEntee is saying is false.)

McEntee has gone over time but she is being allowed to continue anyway.

McEntee keeps talking about hate but, like the bill, she has so far failed to provide a definition of hate.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

McEntee is concluding her speech now.

She is claiming that there is nothinng radical about the bill.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Senator Barry Wall of Fianna Gael is speakng now. He says he is going to address some of the reasonable questions about the bill.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Wall says the purpose of the bill is not to stifle debate.

(Yes it bloody well is)

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Wall doesn't want to hear any of the "rubbish" he's seen online about the bill.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Wall saying that he has seen senators online saying that the bill limits free speech and that this is nonsense.

(The whole point of the bill is that it limits free speech. How can anyone believe otherwise?)

Wall is comparing being in possesion of material that criticises minorities to having a knife in your pocket.

(No. Just no.)

Wall says the bill makes it illegal to be in possession of hateful material as long has you have a good reason to be in possession of it.

(There is no mention of this in the bill)

Wall thinks the bill is a very "fine piece of legislation".

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Wall says the definition of gender should be "as wide as possible".

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Ronan Mullen is up now.

(He is against the bill)

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Mullen says we are all against the incitement of hate. He points out how there is not definition of hate in the bill.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Mullen points out that the bill is pointing out the discrepencies between the previous speeches and the bill.

Mullen is talking about @HJoyceGender's book now and her talk this morning.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Mullen says that the right to not be offended is not a fundamental right.

(He's dead right too.)

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Mullen says it is important for everyone to be able to express themselves unless what they are saying is harmful.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Mullen is listing some of the genders.

(They all sound so ridiculous.)

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Mullen is asking about what will fall under the category of a hate speech. He asks would this include parents objecting to inappropriate sex education classes or someone carrying a placard saying "men can't breastfeed".

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Lorraine Clifford is speaking now. She says that she is for the bill but that she says that Jewish people aren't protected enough under it.

Dennis O'Donovan is speaking.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

O'Donovan says the bill is like using a "sledge hammer to crack open a nut".

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

He is worried that the bill will not have the intended consequences of the people who have spoken for it. He also says that it was rushed through the Dáil.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

He says that he was satisfied with what the bill is trying to achieve but that the manner in which it is being carried out is wrong.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Senator Paul Gavan is up now.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

He says the bill is far too important to be rushed. He wants the bill to be amended or else he will have no choice but to vote against it.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Annie Hoey is speaking now. She is in favour of the bill.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She is going to explain why she believes this particular hate crime bill is necessary.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Hoey says the current legislation is not enough to prevent hate.

She claims that there is very strong support for hate crime in Ireland according to some report that came out today.

(Missed the name of the report - will post later)

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

The report apparently says that 82% favour the protection of transgender people under hate crime legislation.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Hoey says that hate crime legislationis "far over due".

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She is talking about how BelongTo are helping LGBT+ young people at school.

(BelongTo s a dangerous organisation and ignores many safeguarding precautions.).

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Eileen Flynn is speaking now. She is in favour of the bill.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

According to her, if we have an equal society we must recognise the effect of hate crime.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Flynn claims that she recognises the importance of free speech but that "hate speech is not free speech".

(No, free speech lets you say whatever you want even if it's considered hateful. Free speech can't exist if we bring in hate speech laws)

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She says that the bill provides "hope" for minority groups.

(It does not provide hope for many people from minority groups who I know.)

Pauline O'Reilly is up now.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

O'Reilly believes that it is their job, as legislators, to restrict freedoms of people who make other uncomfortable.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She says that she works with many young people who cannot understand why people think so much about other people's genders.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She says that she believes this legislation will make Ireland a "kinder nation".

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Lisa Chambers is talking now.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She says that most people don't have problem with hate crime but they only have a problem with the hate speech part.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She says that she is not going to talk about gender much as she will upset somebody, no matter what she says.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She is pointing out that many LGBT people don't want this legislation passed. She references a letter she received from Not All Gays (@NotAllGays).

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Joe O'Reilly is speaking now.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

He says that Ireland is a very diverse, multi racial society.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

O'Reilly says everyone criticising the bill are talking about theoretical scenarios which might not happen.

(No. If this law is passed it will criminalise saying certain things. People arrested for voicing their opinions. Nothing theoretical about it. It's the point of the bill)

He talks about how the holocaust started with hate speech.

(Is he honestly saying that the next step after saying "transwomen are men" is genocide?)

He doesn't believe that free speech is threatened by hate speech laws.

(Yes it is. Free speech is threatened by limiting what people can say. Does he not understand this?)

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Michael McDowell is speaking now.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

He says that Barry Ward was wrong to say any criticism of the bill was nonsense.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

McDowell says that free speech without the right to offend is pointless.

(Yes. That's it exactly. If free speech is limited to only speech that won't offend it's not free speech.)

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

McDowell points out that hatred can be percieved very differently by everyone hence why a definition of "hatred" is needed in the bill.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

McDowell says that this bill needs to be amended. He says that people with unpopular views eg @jk_rowling should be allwed to voice their opinions without the threat of prosecution.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Fiona O'Loughlin is speaking now.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She says that Ireland is the only country in Europe without hate crime laws.

(So? Why do we have to be sheep?)

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

O'Loughlin says that she has some concerns around the hate speech area of the bill.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She says that hatred needs a more robust definition in the bill.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Senator Aisling Dolan is speaking now.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She says that there needs to be a balance between freedom of expression and limiting hate speech.

(There can be no balance. Either we have free speech or we have hate speech laws. They cannot coexist.)

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

She says that we need to bring these laws as soon as possible.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw

Sharon Keogan is speaking now but she is not going to have time to deliver most of her speech.

It is eight o'clock now so it is being adjourned. The debate will recommence at 10:30 tomorrow morning.

#NoHateSpeechLaws #NoHateSpeechLaw