Minister announces new act to abolish offence of blasphemy
A new act being introduced today will abolish the offence of blasphemy.
The Justice Minister announced the step after the referendum in October 2018.
Minister Charlie Flanagan has announced the start of the Blasphemy (Abolition) Act 2019.
He says the very notion of criminalising blasphemy, with the risk of a chilling effect on free expression and public debate, has no place in the Constitution or the laws of a modern Republic.
This Act scraps the offence of blasphemy, and reflects the outcome of last year's referendum, in which people approved removing the Constitutional requirement that it be a criminal offence by almost 65 per cent of voters nationally.
The Justice Minister says the Government has also removed all identified references to blasphemy from the Statute Book, including those in the Censorship of Films Acts.
He's emphasising that these changes are not an attack on religious beliefs. Nor are they intended to privilege one set of values over another.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties welcomed the news the offence of Blasphemy is to be scrapped.
They described it as "a wonderful leap forward" for human rights in this country and is stressing the importance of freedom of expression.
