6.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), a person is guilty of an offence if the person—

(a) in or outside the State—

(i) engages in a terrorist activity or a terrorist-linked activity,

(ii) attempts to engage in a terrorist activity or a terrorist-linked activity, F8[other than public provocation to commit a terrorist offence, ] or

(iii) makes a threat to engage in a terrorist activity,

or

(b) commits outside the State an act that, if committed in the State, would constitute—

(i) an offence under section 21 or 21A of the Act of 1939, or

(ii) an offence under section 6 of the Act of 1998.

(2) Subsection (1) applies to an act committed outside the State if the act—

(a) is committed on board an Irish ship,

(b) is committed on an aircraft registered in the State,

(c) is committed by a person who is a citizen of Ireland or is resident in the State,

(d) is committed for the benefit of a legal person established in the State,

(e) is directed against the State or an Irish citizen, or

(f) is directed against—

(i) an institution of the European Union that is based in the State, or

(ii) a body that is based in the State and is set up in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community or the Treaty on European Union.

(3) Subsection (1) applies also to an act committed outside the State in circumstances other than those referred to in subsection (2), but in that case the Director of Public Prosecutions may not take, or consent to the taking of, proceedings referred to in section 43(2) for an offence in respect of that act except as authorised by section 43(3).

(4) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of—

(a) the activities of armed forces during an armed conflict insofar as those activities are governed by international humanitarian law, or

(b) the activities of the armed forces of a state in the exercise of their official duties insofar as those activities are governed by other rules of international law.

(5) To avoid doubt, the fact that a person engages in any protest, advocacy or dissent, or engages in any strike, lockout or other industrial action, is not of itself a sufficient basis for inferring that the person is carrying out an act with the intention specified in paragraph (b) of the definition of “terrorist activity” in section 4.

(6) Where a person is charged with an offence under subsection (1), which in the opinion of the Attorney General was committed in or outside the State with the intention of—

(a) unduly compelling the government of a state (other than a member state of the European Union) to perform or abstain from performing an act, or

(b) seriously destabilising or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of such a state,

then, notwithstanding anything in this Act, no further proceedings in the matter (other than any remand in custody or on bail) may be taken except with the consent of the Attorney General.

(7) Where in proceedings for the offence of engaging in or attempting to engage in a terrorist activity—

(a) it is proved that the accused person committed or attempted to commit an act—

(i) that constitutes an offence specified in Part 1 of Schedule 2, or

(ii) that, if committed in the State, would constitute an offence referred to in subparagraph (i),

and

(b) the court is satisfied, having regard to all the circumstances including those specified in subsection (8), that it is reasonable to assume that the act was committed, or the attempt was made, with the intention of—

(i) seriously intimidating a population,

(ii) unduly compelling a government or an international organisation to perform or abstain from performing an act, or

(iii) seriously destabilising or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a state or an international organisation,

the accused person shall be presumed, unless the court is satisfied to the contrary, to have committed or attempted to commit the act with that intention.

(8) The circumstances referred to in subsection (7), include—

(a) whether the act or attempt referred to in subsection (7)(a)—

(i) created or was likely to create a collective danger to the lives or physical integrity of persons,

(ii) caused or was likely to cause serious damage to a state or international organisation, or

(iii) caused or was likely to result in major economic loss,

and

(b) any other matters that the court considers relevant.

(9) Where the Director of Public Prosecutions considers that another Member State of the European Communities has jurisdiction to try a person for any act constituting an offence under this section, the Director—

(a) shall co-operate with the appropriate authority in that other Member State, and

(b) may have recourse to any body or mechanism established within the European Communities in order to facilitate co-operation between judicial authorities,

with a view to centralising the prosecution of the person in a single Member State where possible.