Traveller group has list of several dozen 'Facebook bigots'.(Business)

Byline: Warren Swords

AT LEAST 20 people could be charged for incitement to hatred over remarks they made about Travellers on Facebook, the social networking site.

Pavee Point, the national organisation for Travellers, has gathered evidence for formal complaints to gardai that includes names and photographs of several dozen people who left comments on Facebook pages about Travellers as well those who set up anti-Traveller pages.

Earlier this week, barman Patrick Kissane, 27, became the first person to be charged under Section 2 of the Incitement to Hatred Act over material published on the internet after a complaint was made by Pavee Point. He is accused of setting up a Facebook page entitled, 'Promote the use of knacker babies for shark bait'.

He appeared at Killarney District Court charged with 'actions likely to stir up hatred'.

But Pavee Point said last night it had evidence of separate postings that show 'clear cut cases' of incitement to hatred.

A spokesman said: 'For the ones that meet the definitions we have for incitement to hatred, we're looking at a couple of dozen who meet that threshold. The comments left on some Facebook pages are actually more serious than just the page being set up.

'There is another page called, I ****ing hate knackers, and someone had put up the comment, "Kill them and **** on their corpses". Someone else had then said, "Right on buddy".

'It's got to the point, where someone has expressed the opinion that people should be killed because of their ethnic origin and that you should celebrate their death.

'That meets the test that we have in our society for incitement.' Pavee Point says it is considering making formal complaints to gardai.

'They are allegations of a criminal act and as a result there is need to make a named statement and be prepared to testify in court about when they saw it etc.' Another Facebook page that has since been removed was called, 'Setting aside Monday afternoons to hunt knackers'.

The Pavee Point spokesman added: 'People do have the right of freedom of speech. What they don't have a right to do is to encourage people to commit violent acts on the basis of people's ethnic origin.' Judge James O'Connor adjourned the case involving Kissane at Killarney District Court until July.