17. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, information shared by the Agency with another person (in this subsection referred to as a “relevant person”) in the course of carrying out an assessment arising from a report under section 14 shall not be disclosed to a third party by the relevant person, save in accordance with law or under and in accordance with an authorisation under subsection (2).

(2) The Agency may authorise in writing the disclosure of information referred to in subsection (1) subject to such conditions (if any) as the Agency considers appropriate and specifies in the authorisation.

(3) A person who fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.

(4) Where an offence under this section is committed by a body corporate and it is proved that the offence was committed with the consent or connivance, or was attributable to any wilful neglect, of a person who was a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person purporting to act in that capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of an offence and may be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(5) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members,subsection (4) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his or her functions of management as if he or she were a director or manager of the body corporate.

(6) Summary proceedings for an offence under this section may be brought and prosecuted by the Agency.

(7) Notwithstanding section 10(4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851, proceedings for an offence under this section may be instituted at any time within 12 months from the date of the offence.