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Dermot Ahern, the Irish Justice minister is to introduce a law that will make blasphemy a legally punishable offense in Ireland with fines of up to €100,000 as reported in the Irish Times. At a time when Ireland is struggling to build credibility in the international community, this latest move by Fianna Fail is set to make a laughing stock out of the country, projecting an image of a draconian backwater state turning to God now that its banks have failed.

The minister admits that he is bringing in this law is as a matter of convenience; that it would be too distracting for Ireland and too difficult to remove a blasphemy reference in the constitution that calls for blasphemy to be legally punishable offense because this would require a referendum. However, with a Lisbon referendum on the horizon there is a perfect opportunity for Irish people to be given the opportunity to make their own mind up on this matter. It is quite shocking that Dermot Ahern appears oblivious to the importance of this law - it cuts across the entire of Irish society - with art works, live performances and publications to be made legally vulnerable to a massive fine. You cannot, or at least you should not, fix a problem such as the unusual anomaly in our constitution by introducing ill-conceived legislation that makes a criminal offense out of free speech with a €100,000 price tag.

Fianna Fail's proposal will outlaw anything that is interpreted as "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". In contrast, the Irish Supreme Court in 1999 said that it was impossible to say "of what the offense of blasphemy consists".

Michael Nugent of Atheist Ireland identified that "this new law will treat religious beliefs as more valuable than secular beliefs and scientific thinking" and because the law is triggered by the level of outrage a religious group expresses, it actually "encourages the type of orchestrated outrage that Islamic fundamentalists directed against Danish cartoonists." A Facebook group called Blasphemy Ireland has been set up to protest against the legislative change.

It will be interesting to see what the first cases to be brought before the law will be. In Britain, Strathclyde police has eight officers which identify themselves as Jedi Knights. Is this enough people to constitute substantial numbers? How 'outraged' must they get before something said about them could trigger Dermot Ahern's blasphemy law? Can one still make jokes about 'The Force'?

It defies belief to think that Ireland could sink to a level where the state becomes an agent of legislation that encourages religious outrage. Ciaran Cuffe of the Green Party is to be commended for showing the courage to call for a referendum on this issue in a recent Irish Times article. Holding a referendum on whether blasphemy is a crime is the only viable and cost effective solution that respects the law, the constitution and the people of Ireland. Anything less is a grossly offensive insult.

• OpinionPiece
• Ireland
• politics
• blasphemy