The two women who are spearheading a campaign to criminalise stalking have welcomed moves to introduce an offence of stalking into Irish law. She said she had been moved by listening to the experiences of Ms Ring and Ms McDowell and agrees with them that the law needs to be strengthened. This bill seeks to amend the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 by inserting a provision to allow for a specific offence of stalking. She pointed out that in its 2016 report on Harmful Communications and Digital Safety, the Law Reform Commission recommended that specific stalking offence should be enacted. Specific stalking offences were introduced in Scotland, England and Wales in 2010 and 2012 respectively.

Source: Irish Examiner July 13, 2021 16:41 UTC