David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Concern was expressed in the Seanad on Second Stage and in submissions received by my Department about the possible unintended consequences of the definition of "publishes" in section 33. The section provides that where criminal proceedings are brought for contravention of an order under the Bill, it will be an offence to publish or broadcast any information or photographs which could lead to identification of the victim or the person charged or a dependant of either of them.

It was brought to my attention that the definition of "publishes" is drafted so broadly that it could criminalise any innocent mention of a case, including the accused person’s identity, by the complainant to anyone. This could merely be an email or text message to a relative or friend in the course of ordinary private correspondence, such as a message saying that, “John’s trial for breaking the barring order is on tomorrow”.

Having looked again at the definitions of "broadcasts" and "publishes" in section 33, I agree that the current definitions are too broad for the intended purpose of the section. It is not the policy intention to criminalise private conversations. The proposed amendments aim to make it clear that only public communications will come within the scope of the offence.