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Harassment or stalking
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23. The Act of 1997 is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 10:
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“10. (1) A person shall be guilty of the offence of harassment where—
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(a) the person, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, persistently, by his or her acts, intentionally or recklessly, at the time when the acts occur or when the other becomes aware of them—
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(i) seriously interferes with another’s peace and privacy, or
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(ii) causes alarm, distress or harm to the other,
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and
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(b) the person’s acts are such that a reasonable person would realise that the acts would seriously interfere with the other’s peace and privacy or cause alarm, distress or harm to the other, at the time when the acts occurred or when the other becomes aware of them.
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(2) A person shall be guilty of the offence of stalking where—
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(a) the person, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, by his or her acts, intentionally or recklessly causes another, at the time when the acts occur or when the other becomes aware of them—
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(i) to fear that violence will be used against him or her or another person connected to him or her, or
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(ii) serious alarm or distress that has a substantial adverse impact on his or her usual day-to-day activities,
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and
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(b) the person’s acts are such that a reasonable person would realise that the acts would cause the other, at the time when the acts occur or when the other becomes aware of them, to fear that violence will be used against him or her or another person connected to him or her, or serious alarm or distress that has a substantial adverse impact on his or her usual day-to-day activities.
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(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (1) and (2), the acts referred to in those subsections include the following:
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(a) following, watching, monitoring, tracking or spying upon a person;
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(b) pestering a person;
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(c) impersonating a person;
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(d) communicating with or about a person;
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(e) purporting to act or communicate on behalf of a person;
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(f) disclosing to other persons private information in respect of a person;
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(g) interfering with the property (including pets) of a person;
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(h) loitering in the vicinity of a person;
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(i) causing, without the consent of the person, an electronic communication or information system operated by a person to function in a particular way;
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(j) breaching a court order—
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(i) made pursuant to this section or Part 5 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023, or
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(ii) otherwise restraining the person from communicating with or about the other person or, within such distance as is specified in the order, approaching the other or the place of residence, education or employment of the other person.
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(4) Where a person is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2), the court may, in addition to or as an alternative to any other penalty, order that the person shall not, for such period as the court may specify, communicate by any means with or about the other person or that the person shall not approach within such distance as the court shall specify of the place of residence, education or employment of the other person.
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(5) An order under subsection (4) shall be in writing.
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(6) A copy of an order under subsection (4) shall be given to—
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(a) the person against whom the order is made (‘the subject of the order’),
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(b) the other person, referred to in subsection (4),
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(c) the member of the Garda Síochána in charge of the Garda Síochána station for the area in which the person referred to in paragraph (b) resides, and
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(d) if the subject of the order is sentenced to a period of imprisonment, the person for the time being in charge of the place where the subject of the order is, or is to be, imprisoned.
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(7) The validity of an order under subsection (4) shall not be affected by non-compliance with subsection (6).
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(8) A person who fails to comply with the terms of an order under subsection (4) shall be guilty of an offence.
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(9) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1), (2) or (8) shall be liable—
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(a) on summary conviction to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both, or
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(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or to both.
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(10) Without prejudice to any other enactment or rule of law, a court shall, in determining the sentence to be imposed on a person for an offence under this section, treat as an aggravating factor the fact that the person has previously been convicted of an offence against the other person or a person connected with the other person.
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(11) Subject to subsections (12) and (13), where subsection (10) applies the court shall impose a sentence which is greater than that which would have been imposed in the absence of such factor.
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(12) Subsection (10) shall not apply where the court considers that there are exceptional circumstances justifying it not applying that subsection.
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(13) The sentence imposed as a result of the application of subsection (10) shall not be greater than the maximum sentence permissible for the offence concerned.
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(14) A person charged with an offence under subsection (2) may, if the evidence does not warrant a conviction for that offence but warrants a conviction under subsection (1), be found guilty of an offence under subsection (1).
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(15) A reference in subsection (10) to an offence against a person includes a reference to an offence involving damage of the property of the person.”.
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