Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1123. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prosecutions made under the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017; the number which led to successful convictions; and the specific crimes involved. [14017/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, prosecutions are a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The DPP is wholly independent in her functions under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 (as amended) and, as Minister, I have no role in the operations, decision making process, governance or oversight of the Office of the Director.

As a result I am unable to provide any statistical information related to the work of, or decisions taken by, the DPP.

Likewise, management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution. The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas at: oireachtasenquiries@courts.ie and will be able to provide any information that is available to the Deputy in respect of the convictions enquired about.

In order to be of assistance to the Deputy I have referred the question to the Courts Service for its direct reply.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1124. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if the steps he is taking to ensure that Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017 are sufficient to address the instances of deep fake image-based sexual abuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14018/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 criminalises the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.

It is a criminal offence to share, or threaten to share, an intimate image of another person without their consent. This includes sharing intimate images purporting to be of another person - often referred to as ‘deep-fakes’.

The legislation defines “intimate image, in relation to a person to mean any visual representation (including any accompanying sound or document) made by any means including any photographic, film, video or digital representation—

(a) of what is, or purports to be the person’s genitals, buttocks or anal region and, in the case of a female, her breasts,

(b) of the underwear covering the person’s genitals, buttocks or anal region and, in the case of a female, her breasts,

(c) in which the person is nude, or

(d) in which the person is engaged in sexual activity.

The penalties – up to seven years in prison and an unlimited fine - are high to reflect the seriousness of the offences and the damage and hurt they cause.

I would encourage anyone who believes they may have been a victim of this crime to report it to Hotline.ie and to contact An Garda Síochána.

In September 2021, my Department launched a national awareness campaign in relation to the new law and intimate image abuse. It was centred on a 30-second video showing various motivations as to why an intimate image was shared, with the tagline “whatever your motivation, sharing an intimate image without consent is a crime”. The campaign ran on TV, radio, cinema and across social media at various times in 2021 and 2022.

The next phase of the campaign, which will focus on raising awareness of the illegality of threatening to share intimate images, is currently in production and will air in the coming months.

Raising awareness of the illegality of 'deep fake' intimate image abuse will be considered for future elements of the campaign.