Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Bill 2022

What this bill doesAI · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001

• Replaces 1989 incitement law with new offence covering incitement to violence or hatred, making convictions easier; adds offence of denying or trivialising genocide and war crimes.
• Creates aggravated versions of existing crimes (assault, criminal damage, threats, harassment) with enhanced penalties when motivated by hatred based on protected characteristics like race, religion, sexual orientation or disability.
• Requires courts to treat evidence of hate motivation as aggravating factor in sentencing for any offence; DPP consent required to prosecute incitement cases.

Stage timelineWhat do these stages mean?

1. First Stage33rd Dáil

   1 Nov 2022
2. Second Stage33rd Dáil

   10 Nov 2022
3. Committee Stage33rd Dáil

   10 Feb 2023
4. Report Stage33rd Dáil

   21 Feb 2023
5. Fifth Stage33rd Dáil

   26 Apr 2023
6. Second Stage26th Seanad

   26 Apr 2023
7. Committee Stage26th Seanad

   21 Jun 2023
8. Report Stage26th Seanad

   16 Oct 2024
9. Fifth Stage26th Seanad

   16 Oct 2024
10. Cream List33rd Dáil

    23 Oct 2024
11. Enacted

    29 Oct 2024

Debates

• From the Seanad23 Oct 2024↗
• Second Stage (Resumed)21 Jun 2023↗
• Second Stage13 Jun 2023↗
• Report and Final Stages26 Apr 2023↗
• Second Stage (Resumed)16 Nov 2022↗
• Second Stage10 Nov 2022↗

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