DUBLIN — Ireland’s prime minister on Wednesday confirmed that his government is moving ahead with plans to introduce legislation criminalizing possession and distribution of “extreme” pornography, which he hopes to see passed by early 2027.
Prime Minister Micheál Martin told members of the Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the national parliament, that the planned bill “will create offenses relating to the possession, production and distribution of violent or extreme pornography, addressing a significant gap in Irish law.”
In May, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan revealed that Ireland’s Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration was drafting proposals to outlaw production, distribution and possession of “extreme or violent pornography.” Martin noted that the government had approved that plan, and said the proposed new laws would take “an objective approach.”
“They will cover material that would appear, to a reasonable person, to depict extreme violence, abuse, necrophilia or bestiality,” Martin said. “This will include where technology has been used to alter or generate the material. The bill is on the priority for drafting list in the autumn legislative program.”
Martin said that O’Callaghan has also been working “to build consensus throughout the European Union on a coordinated criminal justice response to the harmful impact of extreme or violent pornography,” including hosting a discussion on the topic with other nations’ ministers in July, as part of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.
“Officials continue to engage with the European Commission on potential further cooperation in this area,” Martin said.
The talking points used by Martin, O’Callaghan and other supporters of the proposal have largely mirrored those of the influential 2025 U.K. “pornography review” that recommended banning any adult content deemed “degrading, violent and misogynistic.” That report sparked momentum that eventually led to the criminalization in the U.K. of depictions of “non-fatal strangulation,” often called “choking.”
“It is a very serious and worrying issue,” Martin said. “This is a crisis facing society and facing our younger populations in general in terms of the potential exposure they have to this violent pornography.”
Martin added, “Certainly, we would want this passed early in the new year.”
