22.—(1) In any criminal proceedings the spouse of an accused shall, subject to section 25, be compellable to give evidence at the instance of the prosecution only in the case of an offence which—

(a) involves violence, or the threat of violence, to—

(i) the spouse,

(ii) a child of the spouse or of the accused, or

(iii) any person who was at the material time under the age of F44[18 years],

(b) is a sexual offence alleged to have been committed in relation to a person referred to in subparagraph (ii) or (iii) of paragraph (a), or

(c) consists of attempting or conspiring to commit, or of aiding, abetting, counselling, procuring or inciting the commission of, an offence falling within paragraph (a) or (b).

(2) In any criminal proceedings a former spouse of an accused shall, subject to section 25, be compellable to give evidence at the instance of the prosecution unless—

(a) the offence charged is alleged to have been committed at a time when the marriage was subsisting and no decree of judicial separation or separation agreement was in force, and

(b) it is not an offence mentioned in subsection (1).

(3) The reference in subsection (1) to a child of the spouse or the accused shall include a reference to—

(a) a child who has been adopted by the spouse or the accused under the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1991, or, in the case of a child whose adoption by the spouse or the accused has been effected outside the State, whose adoption is recognised in the State by virtue of those Acts, and

(b) a person in relation to whom the spouse or the accused is in loco parentis.