Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, I thank Senator Boylan for raising this matter. I assure the Senator that the Minister and colleagues in government recognise stalking for the serious offence it is. Stalking is a crime that not only undermines the fabric of our society, it also infringes upon the safety, dignity and freedom of victims. We are aware that this is an extremely serious and intrusive act that causes devastating psychological effects. The tactics employed by stalkers are designed to instil fear in and exert control over their victims and can be a precursor to acts of physical violence. Stalking is a violation of basic human rights and we have zero tolerance for it in our society.

The Government has demonstrated this determination to ensure our laws and policies provide robust protection for those who fall victim to it and has implemented measures to address this carefully.Last November the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, announced a range of new criminal offences that came into effect under the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023, which includes provisions aimed at improving the legal framework for tackling stalking. The introduction of the new stand-alone offence of stalking with a maximum sentence of up to ten years forms part of the Government's zero tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and fulfils a key action in the third national strategy in this area. Although stalking was already illegal, we have strengthened and highlighted the applicable legal framework through this stand-alone offence, defined in terms of causing either a fear of violence or serious alarm and distress that has a substantial impact on a person's day-to-day activities.

In addition, under the legislative changes introduced the scope for the existing harassment offence is widened to include any conduct that seriously interferes with a person's peace or privacy and causes alarm, distress or harm to them. A wide list of possible acts is included, such as communicating, impersonating, and interfering with property or pets and so on. This list is not exhaustive and the overarching principles of the legislation may apply to the use of electronic tagging devices like AirTags in the context of stalking.

The Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 also provides for the making of civil orders restraining stalking-type behaviour. These orders form an important first step in addressing stalking behaviour and in protecting victims as they do not require the level of proof associated with criminal offences.

With regard to engaging with technology companies on ensuring safeguards are built into such devices, and the companies' reaction to the concerns raised, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, will raise this with her colleague in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. They will also examine if more can be or needs to be done in this space, including looking at whether it is a technological fix, a co-operative approach or legislative change that is needed to make sure companies engage on this issue and can react to ensure their technology is not abused in any way.