The European Commission has instigated an “infringement procedure” against Ireland, accusing the country of not properly integrating a European Union decision on fighting racism and xenophobia into its own legal system. This method, known as transposition, involves embedding EU directives and framework decisions into the statutory laws of individual EU countries.
The Commission issued a formal letter of notification to Ireland, and “reasoned opinions” to Bulgaria and Estonia, criticising their partial and flawed transposition of the decision framework. This letter signifies the opening stage of the infringement procedure, giving Ireland a two-month window to address the highlighted faults.
Ireland’s Justice Department stated it has received the letter and is currently contemplating its contents. If Ireland’s response is considered unsatisfactory, the Commission is authorised to issue a reasoned opinion to Ireland and potentially refer Bulgaria and Estonia to the European Union’s Court of Justice.
Should the court concur with the Commission’s infringement findings, and if Ireland fails to adhere to the ruling, the court possesses the power, at the Commission’s request, to impose either a penalty payment or a lump sum.
The framework decision’s objective is to ensure that all EU countries sentence severe displays of racism and xenophobia, such as inciting public violence or hatred, with firm, proportionate, and discouraging criminal penalties. The Commission asserted that Ireland has not fully implemented the provisions linked to hatemongering or violence, “including the condoning, denial or gross trivialisation of international crimes and the Holocaust”.
Notwithstanding recent governmental decisions to dismiss proposals for hate speech laws, it is believed that the European Commission’s actions are not connected. It is understood that Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has received approval from Coalition leaders to eliminate parts of the contentious criminal justice legislation associated with inciting violence and hatred, commonly referred to as hate speech components, and instead focus on other aspects dealing with hate crime, which propose sterner sentences when hatred is substantiated as a motive for an offence.