Cabinet has approved new legislation to criminalise the sharing of intimate images without a persons consent.
Under the new laws, someone may be jailed for up to seven years if they have published abusive material with the intent of causing harm.
Someone found to be forwarding the material on after receiving it could be jailed for up to 12 months, or be fined up to €5,000.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee is hopeful the new laws will be enacted before the end of the year.
"This is going to the justice committee next week on December 1st and we have four weeks left of Dáil committee so it would be my hope that this could be passed by both the Dáil and the Seanad before the end of the year.
"I would require the full support of all members of the house, but that's the commitment I gave and something that I would really like to stick to."
