Naomi Long previously confirmed that there wouldn’t be enough time to introduce standalone hate crime legislation before the next election
Justice Minister Naomi Long has said that she intends to see two pieces of legislation dealing with hate crimes introduced by early next year.
The Minister had previously outlined that there would not be enough time in the current mandate to progress a single standalone Hate Crime Bill as proposed in Judge Marrinan’s Review of Hate Crime Legislation.
In a bid to make some progress, the Minister had stated that she would propose bringing forward the statutory aggravation offence model for hate crime in a forthcoming Sentencing Bill and more specific support to victims and witnesses through provisions included in a Victims Bill.
Following the recent incident where slurry was sprayed on the road ahead of Mid and East Antrim Pride in Ballymena, SDLP Leader of the Opposition, Matthew O’Toole asked the Minister for an update on the progress of the legislation.
In response, Minister Long said: “I condemn the spreading of slurry on the streets of Ballymena ahead of the Mid and East Antrim Pride parade, and act which the Police Service of Northern Ireland are treating as a hate crime. There is no place in our society for hatred and bigotry. I am encouraged by the response of the local community who came together along with the council and other volunteers to assist in cleaning the streets to ensure the parade could take place unhindered.
“As you will be aware, it was not possible to introduce any legislation or progress key policy decisions in the absence of Ministers, the Executive and NI Assembly during a significant proportion of the early part of this mandate. I, therefore, had to review and re-prioritise my previous, more ambitious legislative plans upon my return as Minister of Justice at the beginning of last year.
“Officials are currently progressing work on two Bills which will include hate crime provisions.
“The Sentencing Bill, planned for introduction in Autumn 2025, which will include a statutory aggravation model for hate crimes whereby all existing crimes could be aggravated by hostility if evidence shows the crime is motivated by hostility or hostility is demonstrated. The statutory aggravator model will remain the foundation for all other future provisions.
“A Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill, planned for introduction in early 2026, which will include provisions of automatic eligibility for consideration of special measures and the prohibition of in-person cross-examination in cases involving hate crime.
“In the limited time available in this mandate, I believe that these are the most impactful provisions from Judge Marrinan’s Review which can be advanced in this mandate.”
Responding to Mrs Long’s comments, Matthew O’Toole told Belfast Live: “A number of high-profile recent incidents including the spreading of slurry before a Pride parade in Ballymena only underline the importance of a robust stand-alone hate crime legislation for Northern Ireland.
“The Minister has repeatedly pointed to the lack of time remaining in the mandate as an excuse for being unable to progress this, but given the weakness of response from the Executive to the upsurge in hate crime in NI this excuse will ring hollow to a public demanding action to outbreaks of racist violence and other deeply unpleasant events.
“We have to accept that our society has a problem in this area, with racially motivated hate crime outpacing sectarian incidents. The Minister cannot bury her head in the sand and we need to see action to reassure minority communities and keep them safe.”
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