Criminal Damage Act, 1991

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 31/1991

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Number 31 of 1991

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CRIMINAL DAMAGE 1991

REVISED

Updated to 1 January 2019

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Criminal Damage Act 1991. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Act 2018 (42/2018), enacted 27 December 2018, and all statutory instruments up to and including Criminal Justice (Suspended Sentences of Imprisonment) Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 1 of 2019), made 3 January 2019, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 31 of 1991

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CRIMINAL DAMAGE 1991

REVISED

Updated to 1 January 2019

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

This Act is not collectively cited with any other Act.

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1979, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Domestic Violence Act 2018 (6/2018)

• Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017)

• Taxi Regulation Act 2013 (37/2013)

• Criminal Justice Act 2011 (22/2011)

• Criminal Procedure Act 2010 (27/2010)

• Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (24/2010)

• Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 (2/2005)

• Criminal Justice (Safety of United Nations Workers) Act 2005 (16/2000)

• Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 (26/1997)

• Bail Act 1997 (16/1997)

• Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 (33/1996)

• Extradition (Amendment) Act 1994 (6/1994)

• Criminal Justice Act 1993 (6/1993)

All Acts up to and including Central Bank (National Claims Information Database) Act 2018 (42/2018), enacted 27 December 2018, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Criminal Damage Act 1991 (Section 14(4)) (Commencement) Order 1992 (S.I. No. 226 of 1992)

All statutory instruments up to and including Criminal Justice (Suspended Sentences of Imprisonment) Act 2017 (Commencement) Order 2019 (S.I. No. 1 of 2019), made 3 January 2019, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 31 of 1991

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CRIMINAL DAMAGE ACT 1991

REVISED

Updated to 1 January 2019

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

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Acts Referred to
Children Act, 1908	1908, c. 67
Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act, 1976	1976, No. 14
Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1940	1940, No. 23
Family Home Protection Act, 1976	1976, No. 27
Family Law (Protection of Spouses and Children) Act, 1981	1981, No. 21
Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989	1989, No. 6
Malicious Damage Act, 1861	1861, c. 97
Police (Property) Act, 1897	1897, c. 30
Probation of Offenders Act, 1907	1907, c. 17
Telegraph Acts, 1863 to 1916

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Number 31 of 1991

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CRIMINAL DAMAGE ACT 1991

REVISED

Updated to 1 January 2019

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AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO OFFENCES OF DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND TO PROVIDE FOR CONNECTED MATTERS. [27th December, 1991]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Interpretation.

1

1.—(1) In this Act—

“compensation order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 9 (1);

“to damage” includes—

(a) in relation to property F1[…], to destroy, deface, dismantle or, whether temporarily or otherwise, render inoperable or unfit for use or prevent or impair the operation of,

(b) F1[…]

(c) to do any act within the State that damages property outside the State,

(d) to do any act outside the State that damages property within the State, and

(e) to make an omission causing damage,

and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;

F1[…]

“property” means—

(a) property of a tangible nature, whether real or personal, including money and animals that are capable of being stolen, and

(b) F1[…]

(2) Property shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as belonging to any person—

(a) having lawful custody or control of it,

(b) having in it any proprietary right or interest (not being an equitable interest arising only from an agreement to transfer or grant an interest), or

(c) having a charge over it.

(3) Where, as respects an offence under section 2, 3 (a) or 4 (a)—

(a) the property concerned is a family home within the meaning of the Family Home Protection Act, 1976, F2[or a dwelling, within the meaning of section 2 (2) of the Family Home Protection Act, 1976, as amended by section 54 (1) (a) of the Family Law Act, 1995, in which a person, who is a party to a marriage that has been dissolved under the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996, or under the law of a country or jurisdiction other than the State, being a divorce that is entitled to be recognised as valid in the State, ordinarily resided with his or her former spouse, before the dissolution] and

(b) the person charged—

F3[(i) is the spouse of a person who resides, or is entitled to reside, in the home or is a party to a marriage that has been dissolved under the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996, or under the law of a country or jurisdiction other than the State, being a divorce that is entitled to be recognised as valid in the State, and]

F4[(ii) is the subject of a safety order, protection order, interim barring order or barring order made under the Domestic Violence Act 2018, or treated under section 41 of that Act as if that order was made under that Act, or is excluded from the home pursuant to any other order of the court,]

sections 2, 3 (a) and 4 (a) shall have effect as if the references therein to any property belonging to another, however expressed, were references to the home.

F5[(3A) A reference to any property belonging to another, however expressed, shall be construed as a reference to a shared home as respects an offence under section 2, 3(a) or 4(a) if—

(a) the property is either a shared home or a dwelling, within the meaning of section 27 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, in which a person who was a civil partner in a civil partnership that has been dissolved under that Act ordinarily resided with his or her former civil partner before the dissolution, and

(b) the person charged—

(i) is the civil partner, or was the civil partner until the dissolution of their civil partnership, of a person who resides, or is entitled to reside, in the home, and

F4[(ii) is the subject of a safety order, protection order, interim barring order or barring order made under the Domestic Violence Act 2018, or treated under section 41 of that Act as if that order was made under that Act, or is excluded from the home pursuant to any other order of the court.]]

(4) Where property is subject to a trust, the persons to whom the property belongs shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as including any person having a right to enforce the trust.

(5) Property of a corporation sole shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as belonging to the corporation notwithstanding a vacancy in it.

(6) In this Act—

(a) a reference to any enactment shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any subsequent enactment including this Act,

(b) a reference to a section is a reference to a section of this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(c) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

Annotations

Amendments:

F1

Deleted (12.06.2017) by Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017), s. 13(a), S.I. No. 249 of 2017.

F2

Inserted (27.02.1997) by Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 (33/1996), s. 48(a), commenced as per s. 1(2).

F3

Substituted (27.02.1997) by Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 (33/1996), s. 48(b)...