Enacted Stage in the legislative process — click for what it means 63/2017 Official bill number / year
Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017
- Sponsor
- Brendan Howlin · Labour Party
- Introduced
- 16 May 2017
- Last updated
- 22 Jan 2021
What this bill does AI · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001
- Creates offences for distributing intimate images without consent; maximum 7 years imprisonment for intentional harm, 12 months for strict liability recording.
- Establishes offence of sending threatening or grossly offensive communications with intent to harm (2 years maximum); applies online and offline without requiring persistence.
- Increases harassment penalties from 7 to 10 years imprisonment; extends to persistent communication about a person; protects victim anonymity in intimate image cases.
Stage timeline What do these stages mean?
- First Stage 32nd Dáil16 May 2017
- Second Stage 32nd Dáil16 May 2017
- Committee Stage 33rd Dáil21 Oct 2020
- Report Stage 33rd Dáil17 Dec 2020
- Fifth Stage 33rd Dáil17 Dec 2020
- Second Stage 26th Seanad17 Dec 2020
- Committee Stage 26th Seanad18 Dec 2020
- Report Stage 26th Seanad18 Dec 2020
- Fifth Stage 26th Seanad18 Dec 2020
- Enacted28 Dec 2020
Debates
Related bills
- Public Health (Single-Use Vapes) Bill 2025 Fifth Stage
- Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 Cream List
- Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2025 Report Stage
- Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) (Amendment) Bill 2026 Second Stage
- Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill 2025 Cream List
- Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill 2026 Fifth Stage