A victim of harassment and stalking has said she wants to see stalking made a standalone crime that carries a ten-year sentence for those found guilty.
Una Ring, who is campaigning for the Government to introduce specific legislation on stalking, said she was cautiously optimistic that legislation would be passed.
Currently, the offence falls under the umbrella of harassment.
Eve McDowell, who is also a victim of stalking, has been campaigning with Ms Ring to introduce the legislation. Ms McDowell's attacker entered her house with a hammer and attacked her housemate.
Fianna Fáil Senator Lisa Chambers brought a draft bill through the second stage in the Seanad this evening. The bill has passed second stage and will move to committee stage next Tuesday.
It outlines specific legislation to make stalking a criminal offence, with a maximum sentence of ten years.
Earlier this year, 52-year-old James Steele of Reavilleen, Rosscarbery, Co Cork was sentenced to seven years in prison, with two suspended, for the attempted burglary with intent to rape of Ms Ring.
The court heard that Steele had become obsessed with Ms Ring and he also pleaded guilty to charges of harassment and criminal damage.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Ring said that stalking was a way more sinister crime and changes to the legislation were "badly needed".
She said that she felt harassed when she was receiving text messages, but this changed when the man "began creeping" around her house in the middle of the night.
At this point, it went far beyond harassment, she said.
Ms Ring said: "When you have the guard stationed outside your home between 12 midnight, and 5am, night after night, that does go beyond harassment.
"They're waiting for a stalker, they're not waiting for somebody who's harassing somebody, they're waiting for somebody who's stalking somebody.
"When you have to seal your letterbox in case petrol is rolled in - that's way beyond harassment."
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Stalking victim recalls 'absolutely terrifying' ordeal
Ms Ring said she will be notified when Steele is released from prison. However, she said she will not be able to live her life without constantly fearing him.
"I know I will be absolutely petrified when he gets out," she said.
"Nobody can reassure you that he's not going to come back ... people can say it, but nobody thought he was going to come to my house with a crow bar and duct tape."
Ms Chambers said they want the law to making stalking an specific offence characterised by "repeated, unwanted behaviour that occurs as a result of fixation or obsession and causes alarm, distress or harm to the victim and to provide for related matters".
She said: "The crime of stalking has a very severe and long-lasting impact on the victim long after the situation has ended. The current harassment laws do not adequately cover the seriousness of the crime of stalking or the impact on the victim.
"We must listen to victims and take their lead in framing the law in this area.
"By introducing this new law and making stalking a criminal offence we are sending a strong message to any future stalker of the seriousness of the crime and the penalty that will ensue."
Ms Chambers added that similar laws in England, Scotland and Wales have led to an increase in reporting and prosecutions.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Minister for Justice said today that the minister is aware of how traumatic stalking is and commends victims who share their experiences of these awful crimes.
"Stalking is a crime - it is illegal to persistently follow, watch, pester, beset or communicate with a person," the spokesman said.
The maximum penalty for the offence of harassment was increased in Coco's Law in 2020 to an unlimited fine and/or a term of imprisonment for up to ten years.
The penalty is now on the higher end of the range of penalties imposed internationally for harassment or stalking, the spokesman added.
"Any person who believes they are a victim of this crime should report it to An Garda Síochána. The laws in this area are kept under review and the minister will of course listen to victims and members of the Oireachtas."
Seanad hears tributes to campaigners
The bill was seconded in the Seanad by Fianna Fáil Senator Mary Fitzpatrick, who paid tribute to Una Ring and Eve McDowell, saying that they "endured terrible ordeals".
They have given of themselves "to other victims" and to "broader society", Senator Fitzpatrick said.
She quoted Ms McDowell's description of stalking as fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repeated, saying this describes the "intrusive, insidious violence" involved.
Ms Fitzpatrick said there will be many benefits to criminalising stalking.
Independent Senator Sharon Keogan told the Seanad of the trauma she experienced at the hands of a stalker over a two-and-a-half-year period. She said it was a "nightmare" which began in 2013.
"In my case", Senator Keogan said, "nothing could be done because the person making the phone calls didn't own the phone", and so "he got away with it".
During the "two-a-half years of hell he put me through", Senator Keogan said she got "92 calls" in one day alone.
"It really destroys your life," she said.
The man knew where she was, what she was wearing, and who she was with, she said. Senator Keogan welcomed the introduction of the bill.
Each Senator who spoke after Ms Keogan paid tribute to their Seanad colleague.
Each also paid tribute to Ms Ring and Ms McDowell and praised Lisa Chambers' work on the bill.
Labour Senator Marie Sherlock welcomed the bill but said that "this ask is not new".
The measures it includes have been called for on many occasions, she said.
Minister of State at the Department of Justice, James Browne, told the Seanad that the Government "is not opposing the bill" introduced by Senator Chambers.
The Minister said he agreed with Fianna Fáil Senator Shane Cassells, who appealed that men use their voices to support women who are subjected to stalking.
"Men have a vital role to play" in supporting women, Minister Browne said.
He thanked Senator Keogan for her testimony, and also paid tribute to Una Ring and Eve McDowell.
The elements of stalking are already included in the crime of harassment, and so there is not sufficient reason to introduce a standalone offence of stalking, he said.
The maximum sentence for harassment has been increased to ten years - where it is five years in England, the Minister added.
He said that the Minister for Justice wants to allow time for recent changes to take effect.
Senator Chambers strongly challenged remarks made by Minister Browne and called on him to retract them.
Senator Chambers said it was a "serious allegation" to suggest that the introduction of a standalone stalking offence "could cast doubt over previous convictions" for stalking behaviour secured under harassment legislation, as the Minister had done.
That is an "incredibly serious assertion", she said, which risks "undermining the judiciary", and called on Minister Browne to withdraw those remarks.
She then appealed for the Minister for Justice to engage in a period of reflection over whether to support the bill.
