New legislation will allow stalking victims to apply for court orders

Campaigner Eve McDowell, who was one of the driving forces behind the legislation, welcomed the roll out of the civil orders. She campaigned for the legislation with Corkwoman Una Ring (left). Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

New legislation allowing victims of stalking to apply for a court order comes into effect from Monday, September 2.

The measure is being rolled out under part five of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 and follows the introduction last November of stalking as a standalone offence, with a maximum sentence of ten years. 

However, part five of the legislation, covering the civil orders, required legal and operational preparations by the Courts Service before it could be introduced.

Under the legislation, a new system of civil orders is being introduced to help provide an earlier intervention for victims.

An affected person, or a member of An Garda Síochána acting on their behalf, will now be able to apply to the District Court for an order prohibiting another person from engaging in relevant conduct under the legislation. 

Relevant conduct is behaviour that would “reasonably be considered likely to cause the applicant— (a) to fear that violence will be used against the applicant or person, or (b) serious alarm or distress that has a substantial adverse impact on his or her usual day-to-day activities."

The new measure is an extension of protections currently in place for some victims under the Domestic Violence Act 2018 and will be available to all victims of stalking, regardless of their relationship with the perpetrator.

According to the Department of Justice, the civil orders will complement the criminal post-conviction orders available under the new provisions in section 10 of the 1997 Act, which apply when a person has been found guilty of the offence of stalking.

However, there will also now be provision for the making of orders on an ex-parte basis where the judge is satisfied that there is an immediate risk to the safety and welfare of the applicant. The legislation will also allow a court to grant an interim order pending the final determination of the application, if it is deemed necessary and proportionate for the safety and welfare of the applicant.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said: “Providing for civil orders to prevent stalking is an important step forward in our work to tackle all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, regardless of the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator. Stalking can have very serious impacts on people subjected to it and I am introducing robust legislation to ensure that everyone has what is needed to ensure they are protected and safe, and feel safe.” 

Campaigner Eve McDowell, who was one of the driving forces behind the legislation, welcomed the roll out of the civil orders.

“It has been a long time coming and there are a lot of people waiting for this,” she said.

She added that waiting for a conviction of a stalker can be very traumatising for victims while the court case itself can “open up a whole new set of traumas”.

She campaigned for the legislation with Corkwoman Una Ring. Ms McDowell’s stalker, Igor Lewandowski, from Monasteravin in Co Kildare, and formerly of Dunaras, Bishop O'Donnell Road, Galway, was sentenced in May 2020 to seven years in prison, with the final two years suspended for five years.

He was arrested in May 2019 after breaking into Ms McDowell's apartment in Galway armed with a claw hammer, and assaulting her housemate. He pleaded guilty to harassment and aggravated assault.