The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan recently secured Government approval to publish the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025.
This is one of eight justice bills, among thirty listed for priority publication in the Government’s legislative programme for the coming spring parliamentary session.
The proposed legislation includes measures to criminalise the exploitative practice of seeking sex in lieu of rent, and to restrict the disclosure of counselling records in sexual offence trials. The Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 will also, among other measures, oblige the courts to consider a community service order in lieu of a prison sentence of up to 24 months’ duration.
On ‘sex for rent’, the bill introduces two offences:
- Offering accommodation in exchange for sexual activity, and
- Advertising accommodation in exchange for sexual activity.
The Department of Justice says that the provisions cover both rental agreements between landlords and tenants, and ‘rent-a-room’ situations.
In such cases, the offer or advertisement is being criminalised, with no requirement to prove that sexual activity occurred. The proposed penalty for these offences is a fine of up to €5,000.
Minister Jim O’Callaghan said, “Any attempt by accommodation providers to exploit their position and prey on vulnerable people through these arrangements is completely unacceptable.
“It is an appalling abuse of power by unscrupulous individuals, and it will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
“This measure addresses a specific Programme for Government commitment and supports broader efforts to tackle the epidemic of domestic, sexual and gender-based abuse.”
The Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025, will also oblige the courts to consider a community-service order (CSO) in lieu of a prison sentence of up to 24 months, an increase from the current threshold of 12 months.
The Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 will be published shortly by the Department.
NB – This is a guide for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have an issue requiring legal advice, please contact any of the team at Nolan Farrell & Goff LLP, whose numbers can be found on our website www.nfg.ie, or email info@nfg.ie.
