Hate speech laws dropped 'as intolerance rises'

Senator warns of 'dangerous and disturbing rise in intolerance, intimidation, and violence against minority communities'

Luna Lara Liboni, chair of the Coalition Against Hate Crime, outside Leinster House, following the publication of annual hate crime statistics by An Garda Síochána in May. File picture: Niall Carson/PA

Hate speech legal provisions are being dropped at a time of a “dangerous and disturbing rise” in intolerance, intimidation, and violence, the Seanad has heard.

Independent senator Eileen Flynn said various minorities “can’t wait” for the measures to be introduced, adding that people can see “every single day the rise of the far right” in Ireland.