Loss of free speech with bill too high a price for us to pay

● Sir — “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” This quotation, attributed to Voltaire, is relevant to the current debate regarding the proposed hate-speech bill.

Voltaire, an outspoken advocate for civil liberties in the intolerant and authoritarian regime of 18th-century France, was imprisoned twice in the Bastille for his views.

Based on the principle that people should have freedom to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation or censorship, the right to free speech has been recognised as a basic human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is one of the pillars of democracy and a bulwark against tyranny.

I find it ironic that many universities, supposedly progressive bastions of intellectual discourse and enlightenment, are guilty of trying to suppress open debate and freedom of expression. Visiting speakers who dare to voice their opinions are cancelled. An example was the 2020 “de-platforming” of political scientist Richard Dawkins by Trinity College for his views on Islam. People must be allowed to express their opinions without fear of being cancelled or boycotted.

There are certain ideologies about which people are not permitted to comment. There are certain subjects that people are afraid to broach, in fear of being hounded by an increasingly vocal minority.

Certainly we should show sensitivity and respect while expressing our opinions. But do we want to return to the narrow and restrictive world of Voltaire, where to express an opinion was risking one’s liberty?

Simon Harris should make it a priority to scrap this bill and to foster a society that respects differing opinions and enshrines free speech as an inalienable right.

Brid Ewing, Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal