Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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18. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 will be amended to include cyberbullying, persistent bullying and threats against a person as an offence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29511/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Law Reform Commission published a comprehensive report on Harmful Communications and Digital Safety in September 2016. This report contained a number of recommendations to further strengthen the criminal justice and regulatory response to harm perpetrated online. There is a growing concern around the safety of individuals online, particularly young people. Negative behaviours such as cyber-bullying and distributing intimate images without consent are areas that need to be tackled. It was intended that my Department would bring forward legislative proposals to give effect to the criminal law aspects of the LRC report. However, due to competing legislative priorities, progress was not as rapid as I had hoped.

In 2017, Deputy Howlin introduced a Private Member’s Bill to address the same criminal law issues outlined in the 2016 LRC report. The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill completed second stage in the Dáil in January 2018 and was not opposed by Government. I recently obtained cabinet approval to discontinue work on the Government Bill and to support Deputy Howlin’s Bill to ensure that legislation can be enacted as swiftly as possible. The main provisions of the Bill as published include extending the existing offence of sending threatening or indecent messages to apply to all threatening, false, indecent and obscene messages using any form of online or traditional method of communications. This is particularly relevant to the Deputy's question as this will criminalise sending threatening messages on any platform.

The Bill also proposes extending the existing offence of harassment as contained in section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997 to include all forms of communication, including through online or digital communications. 

My officials have arranged to meet with Deputy Howlin in the coming weeks with the intention of identifying and bringing forward any necessary Government amendments to ensure the Bill can be effective. Any further amendment to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997 can be considered at that juncture. I would of course be very happy to consider any proposals that Deputy Kenny, or indeed any Deputy might have in this regard, and I look forward to debating the provisions of the Bill on the floor of the House in due course.