Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

A worrying increase in incidents involving the spiking of drinks has been reported. I met a constituent this week whose daughter's drink was drugged, but luckily she had people close by. This sinister offence and others like it are currently covered under legislation on poisoning or drugging - namely, the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, the Misuse of Drugs Act and the Intoxicating Liquor Act. We need more specific laws and real consequences to deal with this problem. In fairness, I note that the previous Government was working on an amendment to the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act, the so-called spiking Bill 2023. This welcome legislation lapsed following the recent election and needs to be reintroduced at the justice committee. Is there a priority and timescale the Taoiseach can give for this law to be passed this year?

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