Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern proposes to insert a new section into the Defamation Bill, stating: “A person who publishes or utters blasphemous matter shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding €100,000.”

“Blasphemous matter” is defined as matter “that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion; and he or she intends, by the publication of the matter concerned, to cause such outrage.”

Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section, the court may issue a warrant authorising the Garda Síochána to enter, if necessary using reasonable force, a premises where the member of the force has reasonable grounds for believing there are copies of the blasphemous statements in order to seize them.

What is interesting so far is the relative silence of the Left on the fundamental question of there being a blasphemy-ban. Even Labour Justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte, who wants the fine reduced to €1,000, and to exempt from the definition of blasphemy:

any matter that had any literary, artistic, social or academic merit.

…does not appear to call into question the wisdom of introducing such an offence into law in the first place.

It has to be asked where the impetus for this legislation is coming from. Is it from the Catholic Right, which has been fighting a losing battle for political-influence since 1992 (when the Irish people voted to legalise travel and information related to abortion), including the defeat of the 2002 Abortion-referendum, or is it from what the Left like to call “the new communities” i.e. particularly foreign-nationals of the Islamic faith in particular? In that respect, we would do well to bear in mind research across Europe on the attitudes of Muslim communities to questions pertaining to traditional Western freedoms, notably freedom of the press and of speech – and in particular, the question of blasphemy.

With respect to British Muslims, an ICM opinion poll in 2006 revealed an astonishing 40% of them want Islamic Sharia law to be introduced in Muslim parts of the country. In relation to the Danish cartoons:

The full figures on ICM’s website reveal some interesting bits and pieces that weren’t reported in the Sunday Telegraph. British Muslims surveyed by ICM were almost unaminous (97%) in thinking that the publication of the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed was wrong, 77% said they personally were very offended by the cartoons, 9% said they were a little offended and 11% said they were not offended. Moreover:

Regarding reactions to the cartoons, 14% of British Muslims thought it was right for protesters in Muslim countries to attack Danish embassies and 12% thought it was right for “demonstrators to carry placards calling for the killing of those who insult Islam”. 13% said it was right “to exercise violence against those who are deemed by religious leaders to have insulted them”.

The Left were at the forefront of dismantling decades of theocracy in this State, notably in the struggle against the bans on divorce and homosexuality. It would surely be ironic then, if in the name of Political-Correctness and a wish to appeal to a minority of newcomers to our shores, they were to take a step backwards from Enlightenment ideals of Western freedom in order to get us to a place at least as bad as where we started in the first place. All true liberals and democrats should oppose this bill, and make their views on it known to the powers that be – particularly on the Green benches in Leinster House. They forced Fianna Fáil’s hand on the by-elections – maybe they can do the same with the Defamation Bill. We should not have to walk on eggshells by an unholy-alliance of religious-fanatics on the one hand and the PC-brigade on the other. For contact-details of your TDs, see here.

According to the GCTI, emigration is on the increase from all over Ireland and it is recurring in precisely the age group that we need most — our young, fit people. What makes the change in the index all the more startling, is the dramatic turnaround in fortunes between the beginning of the year and now. In January, not one club player transferred to a club outside Ireland. This month, over one third of all transfers involved lads leaving the country and signing up for clubs in New York and London.

Ok, so I decided to look at the figures.

As you can see, January is usually very quiet and the summer months quiet busy. Jan 2004, Jan 2007 and Jan 2008 are all quiet low; indeed Jan 2004, when we would be in the middle of the boom, was busiest. The reason, I guess, has a lot to do with young people going abroad for the summer and playing in a GAA club in New York, London or Oz. Suggesting that the difference between Jan 2008 and summer 2008 is plain silly and a abuse of statistics. It is simply following the trend of Summer being more busy then January. Indeed in absolute terms Jun and july 2007 saw 235 people move abroad while Jun and July 2008 saw 223 people move. Basically, there is nothing statistically significant in these figures to show an increase in immigration.

Shane Ross noted on 2nd July that most of the university panel ballots should have arrived by then.   Being on the DU panel electorate, I was beginning to wonder, not having seen sight of the ballot a week later.  Yesterday finally a note from the US Postal Service indicating a registered letter requiring my signature, so down to the Post Office today in blazing heat to pick it up.  As ballots are due on the 24th, there’s  still time to get it in. 

But the paper trail for the letter seems to indicate that it was sitting with my postman or at the post office since 29th June.  I surmise that the the ballots were mailed out in good time, and got across the Atlantic in good time, but that the follow-through on this side is not as energetic as it could be.  At the minimum it might be worth looking carefully through whatever post you are getting for the easy-to-lose brown slip indicating that they are trying to deliver registered mail.  For people on holidays, the problems multiply but I suppose that’s part of the price of being abroad.   It’s a shame though as the Seanad vote for graduates is one of the few footholds those abroad have in the political system.