Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children or Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012
Source: Iris Oifigiúl 2012-07-20

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paragraphs: — (1) In this Act—
“arrestable offence” has the meaning it has in section 2 of the Criminal Law Act 1997 ;
“child” means a person who has not attained 18 years of age;
“Minister” means the Minister for Justice and Equality;
“prescribed” means prescribed by order made by the Minister under section 10 ;
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paragraphs: — (1) Subject to this section, a person shall be guilty of an offence if—
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paragraphs: — (1) Subject to this section, a person shall be guilty of an offence if—
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paragraphs: — (1) Subject to this section, in any proceedings for an offence under section 2 or 3 , it shall be a defence for the accused person to show—
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paragraphs: — (1) An organisation or body which provides services to children or vulnerable persons or both who have suffered injury, harm or damage as a result of physical or sexual abuse may apply to the Minister, in accordance with this section, to be a prescribed organisation for the purposes of section 4 .
(2) An application by an organisation or body under subsection (1) shall be made in the manner specified by the Minister and shall be accompanied by particulars in writing of the following matters in relation to the organisation or body:
(a) the nature and type of services provided by the organisation or body to children or vulnerable persons or both;
(b) the numbers of children or vulnerable persons or both to whom services were provided by the organisation or body before the date of the application for such period or periods as the Minister may specify;
(c) the legal status of the organisation or body; and
(d) the code of practice (if any) of the organisation or body (by whatever name called) with regard to the provision of its services and, in particular, its procedures and protocols for ensuring compliance with this Act.
(3) If, in relation to an application under subsection (2), the Minister is satisfied having regard to the provisions of section 4 that it is appropriate to do so, he or she may prescribe the organisation or body concerned as a prescribed organisation for the purposes of that section.
(4) If, in relation to an application under subsection (2), the Minister is not satisfied having regard to the provisions of section 4 that it is appropriate to prescribe the organisation or body concerned as a prescribed organisation for the purposes of that section, he or she shall refuse the application.
(5) The Minister shall inform the organisation or body concerned in writing of his or her decision in relation to an application under subsection (2) and of the reasons for that decision.
(6) Where an organisation or body has been prescribed by the Minister under this section for the purposes of section 4 , the Minister may, if he or she is of opinion that it is no longer appropriate for the organisation or body to be so prescribed, revoke that prescription of the organisation or body by order made under this subsection for that purpose.
(7) Whenever the Minister proposes to make an order under subsection (6), he or she shall inform the organisation or body concerned in writing of the proposal and of the reasons for it and he or she may specify a period for the making of a submission under subsection (8).
(8) An organisation or body to which a proposal to make an order under subsection (6) relates may make a submission to the Minister within the period (if any) specified by the Minister under subsection (7) regarding the proposal specifying the reasons why the order should not be made.
(9) The Minister shall consider any submission made to him or her under subsection (8) before making an order under subsection (6).
(10) In this section and in section 6 “services” means services relating to—
(a) the resolution, through guidance, counselling or otherwise, of personal, social or psychological problems,
(b) the care of persons in need of protection, guidance or support,
being services that require a person providing them to exercise skill or judgement in relation to them.
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paragraphs: — (1) An organisation or body prescribed under section 5 , or an organisation or body applying to be so prescribed, which provides services to children or vulnerable persons or both who have suffered injury, harm or damage as a result of physical or sexual abuse may apply to the Minister, in accordance with this section, for a class or classes of persons employed or otherwise engaged by the organisation or body in the provision of those services to be prescribed persons for the purposes of section 4 .
(2) An application by an organisation or body under subsection (1) shall be made in the manner specified by the Minister and shall be accompanied by particulars in writing of the following matters in relation to the class or classes of persons concerned:
(a) the nature and type of services provided by such persons to children or vulnerable persons or both;
(b) the expertise and qualifications of such persons to provide such services;
(c) the accreditation or certification (if any) held by such persons in relation to the provision of such services;
(d) the arrangements that the organisation or body has in place for the training and development of such persons to provide such services; and
(e) the procedures and systems that the organisation or body has in place for assessing the quality of the services provided by such persons.
(3) A class or classes of persons employed or otherwise engaged by an organisation or body may not be prescribed under this section if the organisation or body is not prescribed under section 5 .
(4) If, in relation to an application under subsection (2), the Minister is satisfied having regard to the provisions of section 4 that it is appropriate to do so, he or she may prescribe the class or classes of persons concerned employed or otherwise engaged by the organisation or body in the provision of its services as prescribed persons for the purposes of that section and, in particular, the Minister shall be satisfied that members of that class or those classes are qualified to provide such services and to form a view referred to in subsection (12) of that section in relation to a child or vulnerable person in the circumstance referred to in that subsection.
(5) If, in relation to an application under subsection (2), the Minister is not satisfied having regard to the provisions of section 4 that it is appropriate to prescribe the class or classes of persons concerned employed or otherwise engaged by the organisation or body in the provision of its services as prescribed persons for the purposes of that section, he or she shall refuse the application.
(6) The Minister shall inform the organisation or body concerned in writing of his or her decision in relation to an application under subsection (2) and of the reasons for that decision.
(7) Where a class or classes of persons have been prescribed by the Minister under this section for the purposes of section 4 , the Minister may, if he or she is of opinion that it is no longer appropriate for the class or classes of persons to be so prescribed, revoke that prescription of the class or classes of persons by order made under this subsection for that purpose.
(8) Whenever the Minister proposes to make an order under subsection (7), he or she shall inform the organisation or body to which the proposal relates in writing of the proposal and of the reasons for it and he or she may specify a period for the making of a submission under subsection (9).
(9) An organisation or body to which a proposal to make an order under subsection (7) relates may make a submission to the Minister within the period (if any) specified by the Minister under subsection (8) regarding the proposal specifying the reasons why the order should not be made.
(10) The Minister shall consider any submission made to him or her under subsection (9) before making an order under subsection (7).
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paragraphs: — A person guilty of an offence under section 2 or 3 shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or
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paragraphs: — (1) Section 9 of the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 is amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (3):
“(3) In this section—
‘child’ means a person who has not attained 18 years of age;
‘serious offence’ has the same meaning as it has in section 8 but does not include—
(a) subject to subsection (4), an offence that is committed, or that it is anticipated will be committed, against a child, or
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paragraphs: — Section 16 (2) of the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012 is amended by the insertion of “for Health” after “Minister”.
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paragraphs: — (1) The Minister may make an order prescribing any matter or thing which is referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.
(2) An order under this Act may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the order.
(3) Every order (other than an order under section 12 (2)) under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
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paragraphs: — The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
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paragraphs: — (1) This Act may be cited as the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012.
(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may by order or orders appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.