Agriculture Appeals (Amendment) Act 2024
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Prohibition on unauthorised disclosure of confidential information | ||
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12. The Act of 2001 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 14F: | ||
“14G. (1) A person shall not disclose confidential information obtained in connection with acting as— | ||
(a) chairperson, deputy chairperson or ordinary member of the Review Panel, or | ||
(b) chairperson, deputy chairperson or other member of the Forestry Appeals Committee. | ||
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the following: | ||
(a) a disclosure authorised by the Director or Deputy Director made by a person referred to in subsection (1)(a); | ||
(b) a communication reasonably made in connection with the performance of a function under this Act; | ||
(c) a disclosure made by a person to any member of An Garda Síochána of information that, in the person’s opinion, may relate to the commission of an offence (under this Act or otherwise); | ||
(d) a disclosure made in compliance with a requirement of this Act or otherwise required by law; | ||
(e) a disclosure made by a person in the circumstances referred to in section 35 (2) of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 ; | ||
(f) a protected disclosure (within the meaning of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 ). | ||
(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(4) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (3) is liable— | ||
(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both, or | ||
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or to both. | ||
(5) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851 , summary proceedings for an offence under subsection (3) may be instituted at any time within three years from the date on which the offence was alleged to have been committed. | ||
(6) In this section, ‘confidential information’ includes— | ||
(a) any information that would appear to a reasonable person to be of a confidential nature, and | ||
(b) in the case of information obtained in connection with acting as a person referred to in subsection (1)(a), any information designated as confidential (generally or specially) by the Director.”. |