Independent TD Carol Nolan is to bring before Dáil Éireann this Wednesday private members' legislation looking to amend the existing law in place on trespass.
Nolan said that amendment to be proposed will seek to bring legal clarity to farmers and landowners around existing trespass laws, expanding their scope to all farmland and not just the lands around farm buildings.
The TD stated the she has engaged with the Oireachtas parliamentary legal advisor to “see what we could achieve with respect to addressing the rise in reports of trespass from organisations representing farmers”.
Section 13 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 currently states that “It shall be an offence for a person, without reasonable excuse, to trespass on any building or the curtilage thereof in such a manner as causes or is likely to cause fear in another person.”
Nolan’s amendment seeks to substitute “any building or the curtilage thereof” with “any building or other land thereof”.
“If accepted, I believe it would introduce a greater level of legal clarity for farmers and landowners and it would also significantly expand the scope of the physical area that would be captured within the law of trespass,” she said.
Independent TS Carol Nolan at the Slieve Bloom Mountains.
“I think it is also vitally important to remember that trespass affects not just farmers and landowners but also entire rural communities where activities such as lurching or the unsanctioned use of quads, scramblers and motorcycles take place on agricultural land.”
The updated text would broaden the scope of the existing law to capture not just land around farm buildings, but “all farm and agricultural land.”
“I believe this Bill is a modest but important contribution toward the ongoing work of assisting farmers and landowners in dealing with the scourge of trespass which is continuing to make a misery of so many people’s lives,” the Independent TD added.
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Independent TD Carol Nolan is to bring before Dáil Éireann this Wednesday private members' legislation looking to amend the existing law in place on trespass.
Nolan said that amendment to be proposed will seek to bring legal clarity to farmers and landowners around existing trespass laws, expanding their scope to all farmland and not just the lands around farm buildings.
The TD stated the she has engaged with the Oireachtas parliamentary legal advisor to “see what we could achieve with respect to addressing the rise in reports of trespass from organisations representing farmers”.
Section 13 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 currently states that “It shall be an offence for a person, without reasonable excuse, to trespass on any building or the curtilage thereof in such a manner as causes or is likely to cause fear in another person.”
Nolan’s amendment seeks to substitute “any building or the curtilage thereof” with “any building or other land thereof”.
“If accepted, I believe it would introduce a greater level of legal clarity for farmers and landowners and it would also significantly expand the scope of the physical area that would be captured within the law of trespass,” she said.
Independent TS Carol Nolan at the Slieve Bloom Mountains.
“I think it is also vitally important to remember that trespass affects not just farmers and landowners but also entire rural communities where activities such as lurching or the unsanctioned use of quads, scramblers and motorcycles take place on agricultural land.”
The updated text would broaden the scope of the existing law to capture not just land around farm buildings, but “all farm and agricultural land.”
“I believe this Bill is a modest but important contribution toward the ongoing work of assisting farmers and landowners in dealing with the scourge of trespass which is continuing to make a misery of so many people’s lives,” the Independent TD added.
Read more
Legal advice: how do I deal with trespassers on my land?
Gun clubs in favour of trespass law review
'Take the handcuffs off the gardaí, put them on the criminals'
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