Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has done the country a service by reporting the harassment she received to Gardaí.
That's according to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, which says this type of abuse is still under-reported.
43-year-old Gerard Culhane from Marian Place, Glin, Co Limerick, has been given a suspended one year sentence for harassing the Fine Gael TD.
Noeline Blackwell, Chief Executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, says it's important to report abuse:
"Our experience is that more and more the Gardaí understand the level of harm that is done through that kind of harassment, through that kind of horrible abuse that serves nobody well, and only serves to put people in fear and in distress".
