Irish civil society organisations are calling for a comprehensive National Action Plan to Combat Hate, warning that rising hostility towards minority groups is damaging communities and weakening social cohesion.
Representatives of LGBTQIA+ people, Travellers, racialised communities and women joined human rights organisations in Dublin on Thursday to highlight the impact of hate and polarisation across Irish society.
The call came at a press conference hosted by LGBT Ireland and Outhouse as part of ILGA-Europe’s Annual Conference, which brings LGBTQIA+ organisations from across Europe and Central Asia to Dublin.
The organisations said criminal law alone cannot address the growth of hate. They envisage a whole-of-government and whole-of-society strategy combining prevention, education and investment in communities with measures to strengthen social cohesion.
The proposed plan would also address online hate, misinformation and disinformation, including accountability for online platforms. The groups said communities directly affected by hate should be involved in developing and implementing the strategy, which should be grounded in international human rights law.
“Hate does not belong to one community, and neither can the response,” said Anne Byrne, CEO of LGBT Ireland. “Communities across Ireland are experiencing different forms of hate and hostility, but all are feeling its impact and harm.”
Byrne said education, community investment, effective legislation and accountability all had a role to play in creating a society where people can live safely, participate fully and belong.
The National Women’s Council also backed the proposal. Its executive director, Corrinne Hasson, said the experiences of people affected by hate should be central to the response.
The plan, she said, should be based on the expertise and experiences of survivors and include measures to hold social media companies and perpetrators accountable. She also called for equality, gender equality and digital literacy to be embedded in school education.
“We need to challenge the zero-sum discourses that are out there and instead provide a positive, inclusive vision for a society that cherishes and promotes difference and diversity,” Hasson said.
For LGBTQIA+ people, the organisations pointed to recent homophobic and transphobic assaults as evidence of the real-world consequences of a wider climate of hostility. They said hate affects not only those directly targeted, but also wider perceptions of safety, dignity, wellbeing and belonging.
“LGBTQIA+ people, no different to anyone else, want to be able to live openly, freely and without fear,” Byrne said. “Rising hate is harming LGBTQIA+ people, and harming society.”
The organisations acknowledged the importance of Ireland’s Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024, which provides a legal framework for addressing hate-motivated offending. But they argued that legislation cannot by itself prevent prejudice from taking root or address the wider conditions in which hate can spread.
Chaber, Executive Director of ILGA-Europe, said the consequences extended beyond individual incidents.
“Rising hate and polarisation do not only harm the communities they target. They also weaken democracy itself,” Chaber said. When people become afraid to speak out, participate in public life or stand up for others, they said, the space for democratic participation and solidarity becomes smaller.
“Tackling hate is therefore not only about preventing individual acts of harm,” Chaber said. “It is about protecting the conditions that allow diverse democracies to thrive: equality, civic space, participation and the ability to live openly without fear.”
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission likewise stressed the need to address the broader environment in which hate develops. Chief Commissioner Liam Herrick said political leaders should confront hate rather than legitimise divisive narratives.
He pointed to education as a key part of the response, alongside digital and media literacy to help people navigate an online environment where misinformation, disinformation and hate can spread rapidly.
“The answer cannot be limited to criminal justice measures,” Herrick said. “We need a sustained response that tackles the conditions in which hate can flourish and supports the communities experiencing it.”
The organisations said the proposed National Action Plan should bring these strands together, with affected communities involved in shaping a response that protects both people from hate and the equality, freedom of expression, civic space and democratic participation on which an inclusive society depends.
