Blasphemy should not be a crime in Ireland, a Government Minister there has stated.
Minister for Defence Simon Coveney made his comments as the world reacted to violent Islamist attacks in France arising from cartoon portrayals of the Prophet Mohammed, considered blasphemous within the Muslim community. Under Irish legislation, such portrayals could have faced legal sanction for blasphemy, something opposed by the minister.
“Having blasphemy in the Constitution is inappropriate and I think that needs to change at some stage in the future,” Mr Coveney said. Acknowledging that such a change would be “complex”, Mr Coveney added that “on the general issue, Ireland needs to sell itself and needs to be a modern state that welcomes diversity, welcomes difference.”
Article 40 of the Irish Constitution (1937) states that: “The publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law.”
In addition Section 36 of the Defamation Act (2009) provides for a fine of up to €25,000 for anyone convicted of the offence.
A Constitutional Convention in 2014 recommended that the offence of blasphemy be removed from the Constitution but a referendum on the issue has not yet been scheduled.
Meanwhile, the January 7 shootings of editorial staff at the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine has also prompted calls in Canada for an end to that nation’s blasphemy legislation. Section 296 of Canada’s criminal code states: “Everyone who publishes a blasphemous libel is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.” No-one has been convicted under that legislation since 1935.
