New farm trespass law to be proposed by Independent TD for Offaly

PRIVATE members legislation will be brought forward this Wednesday by Independent TD for Offaly Carol Nolan aimed at addressing the offence of trespassing on farm and agricultural land.

Deputy Nolan’s Criminal Justice (Trespass on Land) Bill 2025 will seek to amend Section 13 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994.

The current wording of this Section states, “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.”

However, if the Independent TD’s Bill successfully clears all stages, this section will be substituted with the following wording, “It shall be an offence for a person, without reasonable excuse, to trespass on any building or other land thereof in such a manner as causes or is likely to cause fear in another person.”

“I made a firm commitment after the election that I would engage with the Office of the Parliamentary Legal Advisor within the Oireachtas to see what we could achieve with respect to addressing the rise in reports of trespass from organisations representing farmers in rural Ireland,” said Deputy Nolan.

“The Bill I am introducing is the result of that very productive engagement. 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.”

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“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.”

“This Bill simply seeks to broaden the scope of existing legislation to capture not just the land on which the farm buildings and the curtilage of buildings are situated, 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,” concluded Deputy Nolan.

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