Human rights commissioner calls on politicians to 'push back' against LGBT+ hate

Former taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he believed there would be a 'much harsher debate' on the marriage equality referendum if it was to run in 2025. Picture: Oliver McVeigh/PA Wire

Politicians must not “turn a blind eye” to anti-LGBT+ hate because doing so comes at the “expense of real people’s lives”, a leading human rights activist has said.

Speaking 10 years on from Ireland’s landmark marriage equality referendum, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights Michael O’Flaherty said the rule of law was in a “very poor state or in decline in far too many places here in Europe and beyond” and it was “time to push back”.