Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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142. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of convictions under the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68336/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020, also known as Coco’s Law, was enacted in 2021. This Act provides for offences relating to the recording, distribution or publication of intimate images and for the anonymity of victims of those offences; and for an offence involving the distribution, publication or sending of threatening or grossly offensive communications.

The Act creates a serious offence of distribution or publication of an intimate image without consent with intent to cause harm to the victim, attracting a maximum penalty of up to 7 years imprisonment. The Act also makes it an offence to threaten to distribute or publish such an image. It also provides for a strict liability offence, with a lower penalty, for engaging in the recording, distribution or publication of an intimate image without consent, with no requirement to prove an intention to cause harm.

To be of assistance, I have had enquiries made with the Courts Service and I am advised that there has been a total of 25 convictions recorded in the period 1 January 2025 to 30 September 2025 in the District Court, for offences contrary to the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020. I am further informed that the Courts Service can only provide data in relation to offence codes used by prosecutors. Prosecutors may have used uncoded free text offences and, therefore, any such offences would not be included in the data provided.

The Court Service has also advised that many of the offences under the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 have been sent forward for trial from the District Court to a higher court. At this time, the system in use by the Courts Service for the Circuit and Central Criminal Courts cannot produce reports for specific offences.

Separately, an operational review of the legislation, published in autumn of last year, carried out by my Department, found positive early indicators in terms of prosecutions taken, the number of reports of intimate image abuse made, and general awareness of the legislation. While the review concluded that it was too soon to make sweeping generalisations, particularly as it can take some time for cases to proceed through the system, it is clear from this review that the legislation has had a beneficial impact.

The review can be read here: www.gov.ie/en/publication/dd498-review-of-harassment-harmful-communications-and-related-offences-act-2020.