Fitzgerald open to reviewing hate crime legislation

Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald has said she was "open to reviewing" hate crime legislation after a number of attacks in the past week.

Ms Fitzgerald said Ireland had been fortunate to avoid the events seen in some other countries where there had been "dreadful escalations" in racist violence.

Her comments come after an English tourist was stabbed in Dublin city centre on Tuesday and an African mother and her two children were forced to leave their home in Clondalkin, west Dublin.

Their car tyres were slashed three times and 'blacks out' graffiti sprayed across the front of their home. And visiting Indian priest Fr Dominic Savio was beaten and slashed after raiders forced their way in the curate's house in Portlaoise,Co Laois on Saturday night.

“Obviously every crime, a racist or a hate crime, has to be condemned unequivocally and investigated and a case brought forward where the evidence exists,” Ms Fitzgerald said. “We have the Incitement to Hatred Act, which is the appropriate legislation.”

However, she acknowledges the Act was now almost 30 years old and she was open to reviewing any “gaps” that had been highlighted. Unlike other jurisdictions, Ireland has no hate crime legislation providing for specific offences with a racial dimension.

And while race based crime is recorded, the rate of less than two such reports per week is seen as capturing only a fraction of the offences that occur but are recorded as regular crime with no acknowledgement of the racial dimension.

“Overall in this country, in terms of integration;compared to some countries we have been very fortunate,” Ms Fitzgerald said. She added it was important to “respect diversity” and “not get into situations that other countries have where there’s been dreadful escalation of hate crimes”.

Ms Fitzgerald said she was heartened to see the local community in Clondalkin “rally around” the mother and her two children targeted there. By their actions they had sent a clear message the abuse was not representative of the area and was “not done in my name”.

Ms Fitzgerald made her remarks at a passing-out ceremony for 97 new gardaí at the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary.

Three bronze Scott medals for bravery were awarded at the event. Garda Joseph Glackin and then student Garda Gavin Cahill were awarded medals for tackling armed raiders at a filling station in Finglas, north Dublin, where they were based. During the operation in October 2004, the raiders fired at them.

Garda Glackin sustained a wound to his hand and deflected the bullet away from his body with a torch. Garda Michael Bolton, based at Malahide station, north Dublin, also received a medal for tackling armed raiders who fired at him while he was on duty on a bicycle in Portmarnock in November 2012.

While the raiders hijacked a passing vehicle and escaped after Garda Bolton was forced to take cover against the shots, information he supplied over the Garda radio led to their arrests and the recovery of money they had just stolen from St Anne's Credit Union in Portmarnock.