Sinn Féin wanted to extend hate speech bill to give undocumented migrants special protection

The party put forward amendments to the proposed laws in February last year, which would have included migrant status as part of the “protected characteristics”.

Those characteristics are race, colour, nationality, religion (including the absence of religion), national or ethnic origin, descent, gender, sex characteristics, sexual orientation and disability.

The new laws aim to clamp down on hate speech and hate crimes where they are motivated by prejudice against these protected characteristics.

Sinn Féin has denied claims of a U-turn on the bill. All of its TDs voted in favour of the legislation in the Dáil last April, but the party’s position is that the bill should now be scrapped.

The definition of “hate” is laid out in section 10 of the bill and is about preparing or possessing material likely to incite violence or hatred against people on account of their protected characteristics.

Under the Sinn Féin amendments, migrant status would have become one of these protected characteristics.

The party’s amendments to the laws specified that reference to a person’s migrant status included references “to persons seeking international ­protection, persons with refugee status, persons with permission to remain and persons with any other regular or irregular migrant status”.

Independent TD Thomas Pringle also proposed that “migration status” be made a protected characteristic and for migration status to include people seeking international protection, refugees, people with permission to remain and people with “any other regular or irregular migrant status”.

The amendments were not added to the updated laws, which currently remain stalled in the Seanad.

Sinn Féin also proposed including “bias, prejudice, contempt, hostility and bigotry” as hate.

The party further wanted to define hatred and incitement.

It also wanted to extend the legal recognition of hatred for people who were presumed part of a group that fell under any of the protected characteristics.

Sinn Féin has said it voted against the hate speech laws in the Seanad.

However, the party only voted with amendments from senator Michael McDowell, which proposed the legislation be read a second time. This was not carried and did not happen.

“Unfortunately, the Government has pressed ahead bullishly without taking on board any of the concerns which have been raised by Sinn Féin and others,” said the party’s justice spokesperson, TD Pa Daly.

“Sinn Féin has raised a number of serious concerns about flaws in this legislation as it has proceeded through the Oireachtas.”

Former ministers in Fine Gael have now also called for the laws to be shelved.

TDs Charlie Flanagan and Michael Ring have said Fine Gael should go back to its roots and focus on law and order.

Coalition colleague, Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea, said Justice Minister Helen McEntee, who brought the laws forward, is playing to the “woke gallery”.

Meanwhile, X owner Elon Musk has said he will pay the legal bill for anybody who wants to challenge the laws.

In response to this, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar previously told the Sunday Independent he suspected Mr Musk was “showboating”.