Hate crime laws may focus on actions, not motivation, as burden of proof

Announcing the new bill a year ago Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the new offences would mean that a crime, such as an assault, can be investigated as a potential hate crime and that evidence of the hate element could be presented in court. Picture: Brian Lawless

A “demonstration test” to help prove new hate crime offences should be introduced under planned laws, the Oireachtas Justice Committee has recommended.

This test would focus on the “actions” of the accused to support a prosecution of hate crime, it said, rather than establishing their “motivation”, which is more difficult to prove.