Criminal damage in Ireland: the 1991 Act in the District Court

Criminal damage covers a broken window, a keyed car, a kicked-in door, graffiti, a smashed phone belonging to someone else, and a fence pulled down in a row with a neighbour. The Criminal Damage Act 1991 makes it an offence to damage someone else's property without lawful excuse, intending to damage it or being reckless as to whether it would be damaged. Most charges are dealt with in the District Court, where the maximum is 12 months and a Class A fine.

This guide explains what the Act requires, what the District Court can do, compensation orders, the Adult Caution for minor damage, and the record afterwards.

What section 2 says

Section 2(1) of the 1991 Act makes it an offence, without lawful excuse, to damage any property belonging to another, intending to damage it or being reckless as to whether it would be damaged. "Damage" is wide: destroying, defacing, dismantling, rendering inoperable or unfit for use, and, for land, interfering with it so as to affect its value or use. Graffiti is damage. Letting down tyres can be damage. Deleting data can be damage.

"Property belonging to another" means property the other person owns, has custody or control of, or has a right or interest in. Damaging something you jointly own with a partner can still be criminal damage, because the partner has an interest in it.

Two more serious versions sit in the same section. Section 2(2) is damaging property intending to endanger life or being reckless as to that. Section 2(4) is damage by fire, which the Act calls arson. Both are indictable and carry life on indictment; they are outside the District Court except for a preliminary appearance.

Intent and recklessness

The prosecution has to prove one of two states of mind. Intention is straightforward: you meant to damage the thing. Recklessness is defined in section 2(6): you were aware of a risk that property would be damaged, and it was unreasonable in the circumstances to take that risk. Throwing a bottle across a street where it might hit a car is reckless even if you did not aim at the car.

An accident is not criminal damage. A deliberate act that caused more damage than you expected can be, because the recklessness attaches to the risk of damage, not to its extent.

Lawful excuse

Section 6 of the Act gives two statutory excuses in addition to any general defence. You had a lawful excuse if you believed the owner had consented or would have consented had they known the circumstances, or if you damaged the property to protect yourself, another person or other property, and believed that the means used were reasonable. The belief need not be justified; it must be honestly held. Breaking a window to get a child out of a locked car is the obvious example of the second excuse.

Whether you had a lawful excuse is a matter for the hearing on a not guilty plea. The garda and the owner give evidence, you cross-examine and give your own account, and the court decides.

What the District Court can do

Section 2(1) is an either-way offence. The DPP (see the glossary) decides whether to direct summary disposal, and the District Court judge has to accept jurisdiction on the facts outlined. For most criminal damage charges, including the vast majority involving sums in the hundreds or low thousands, the direction is summary.

Within the summary maximum the court may:

• dismiss the charge under section 1(1) of the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 without recording a conviction, often on condition of a donation to the poor box or compensation to the owner;
• bind you to the peace on a bond, which is not a conviction, and is common where the damage arose in a dispute with a neighbour or a former partner;
• convict and fine you within Class A after considering your means, payable by instalments over twelve months on application;
• make a compensation order, with or without any other penalty;
• impose community service, a suspended sentence, or an immediate sentence of up to 12 months.

Most first offences involving modest damage end in one of the first four. What the court weighs is the plea, your record, the value and nature of the damage, whether it was paid for, whether drink was involved, and anything said in mitigation. A charge of criminal damage often arrives together with a public order charge from the same night; the public order guide explains those sections.

The custody power is real. The court may use it where the damage was large, where there is a record, or where it was done to intimidate someone.

Compensation orders

Section 9 of the 1991 Act lets the court, on conviction, order you to pay compensation to the owner for the loss caused, in place of or in addition to any other penalty. The court must have regard to your means, and the order is enforceable as if it were a civil judgment. In practice the figure is the repair bill or the replacement cost, and the owner or the garda hands up an estimate or receipt.

Two practical points. Bringing the money to court, or evidence that the damage has already been paid for, is the single most useful thing in mitigation on a criminal damage charge, and compensation is often the condition of a Probation Act dismissal. And where you dispute the figure, say so: the court fixes the amount on the evidence, and an estimate is not a bill.

The fines guide explains how a fine or a compensation order is paid and what happens in default.

The Adult Caution for minor damage

Minor criminal damage is on the Adult Caution Scheme's list. A Garda superintendent can decide to give a formal caution instead of a prosecution where the damage is minor, you admit it, you agree to be cautioned, and the owner has been consulted. It is normally offered only once. The caution is not a conviction, but it is recorded and can be disclosed in Garda vetting for some roles.

The caution is a Garda decision made before a summons issues; it cannot be applied for at court, though a solicitor can write to the superintendent. Paying for the damage before that decision is made is relevant to it. The Adult Caution guide covers the scheme.

Legal aid and the first appearance

A criminal damage charge arrives as a summons, twelve to fourteen weeks before the first date, or as a charge sheet after arrest. At the first appearance the charge is read and you plead or ask for time. Because the charge carries up to 12 months, the gravity test in the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 can be met; the judge decides on your statement of means. Ask before anything else is dealt with. The legal aid guide explains the form and the tests.

On a not guilty plea, ask for a Gary Doyle order so that you have the statements, the photographs and any CCTV before the hearing.

The record afterwards

A criminal damage conviction is a criminal record on the Garda PULSE system. Under the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 a District Court conviction can become spent seven years after the effective date where the sentence was a fine, a bond, community service, a suspended sentence or custody of twelve months or less. Criminal damage is not one of the minor motoring or public order carve-outs, so it counts as the single conviction a person can have spent. The spent convictions guide sets out the dates and what Garda vetting shows.

An Adult Caution, a bond and a Probation Act section 1(1) dismissal are not convictions. The Garda hold a record of each, and a police certificate for a visa discloses everything.

Where this leaves you

Find out what the damage is said to have cost, because that figure shapes everything from the caution decision to the compensation order. Then use the legal aid check: the charge carries custody, so the gravity test can be met, and the means test turns on the statement you give the clerk.

If you may qualify for legal aid, ask the judge for it at your first appearance; the legal aid page explains the statement of means. If you would rather instruct someone privately, the solicitor page explains how to find a solicitor who takes District Court criminal work.