Racism is a crime. However,  Ireland does not currently have any specific legislation to deal with hate crime.

The Irish laws that deal with criminal offences are full of grey areas and lack clear policies, rendering hate crime rarely punishable. When and if cases are brought to court, it remains at the discretion of judges to consider whether or not a racist motive is a determining factor, opening doors to bias judgement and therefore a flawed justice system.

Teenagers and anyone under the age of 18 are more prone to committing such crimes since the Section 258 of the Children Act 2001 protects them from having a criminal record. This means that when they start looking for employment or applying for an educational course or insurance, they can claim to have a clean record regardless of whether or not they have committed crimes prior to that.

Despite that NGOs have put a lot of work to encourage people of colour residing in the republic to report racism and colourism crimes, there are rarely any results since action is rarely (if never) taken especially when hate crimes are committed by minors.

The 2022 report 'Ireland and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination' published by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission states that a National Action Plan Against Racism, which was required by the Anti-Racism Committee in 2020, has not yet been published.

This reluctance and lack of urgency from public bodies in Ireland affect the residents of the Island, as delays in moving forward mean a higher number in hate crimes and structural violence. 

In Irish society, every immigrant or Irish citizen of colour either faces or is at risk of facing verbal and physical abuse due to their appearance.

In addition to this, out of the 15 Members of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, only two people are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) while the rest are white. Considering that the board has a significant power as an institution, a minimum of a balanced board ethnicity-wise is needed to ensure that the needs of non-white residents of the Island are addressed efficiently. 

In order for Ireland to meet its obligation under the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) , we, Irish residents of colour and the Irish citizens of colour demand that:

• The prosecution and sentencing of racist crime in Ireland ( the 1989 Act) to be reviewed and updated to comply EU laws.
• Complying with article 4 of CERD , which requires any UN member state to penalise racial discrimination.
• Inviting and encouraging Irish civil society to engage politically and contribute to the reformation of Ireland's legal framework on hate crime.
• Have a more ethnically diverse board of the Members of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission by having representatives of other races. 
• Creating a sense of urgency for The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee to push the passing of the Hate Speech and Hate Crime Bill 2022.
• Enroll teachers of all level across the island in a minimum of annual diversity and inclusion training programs to ensure the minimisation of unconscious bias in the classroom at an early age. 
• Urge An Garda Siochána to use the resources available to them to follow-up on hate crime reports without reluctance and delays.
• Tighten the laws on criminal offences committed by underage people by updating the Section 258 of the Children Act 2001 by abolishing the automatic permanent expungement of criminal conviction from the records of anyone under the age of 18. 
• ABOLISH DIRECT PROVISION.