For incitement to hatred to be considered a criminal offence, it is not enough that an act (such as displaying threatening material or behaviour) causes offence; complainants must prove that it actually stirs hatred amongst others. Reducing this exceptionally high evidential barrier would bring Ireland to best practice on definitions and concepts. If, in the future, judicial interpretation protects people from discrimination in social protection and social advantages, fields of application will also meet best practice. Enforcement measures and equality policies give the court a wide range of sanctions to use against perpetrators. But complainants cannot get state aid for their equality actions or receive help from NGOs (legal entities with a legitimate interest in promoting equality) in ordinary court proceedings. Backlogs push the average length of cases over one year. Despite limited funds, the Equality Authority can give legal advice, engage in judicial proceedings and launch its own proceedings, and investigations. Rather than leading social dialogue and disseminating information, the state loads these tasks onto the agency.
