Anyone convicted of spiking someone's drink could soon face a jail term of 12 months.
Proposed new laws to make spiking a standalone offence are being debated in the Seanad today.
Longer jail sentences would be handed down if a victim is hurt in any way.
Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney is in favour of the proposed changes.
"The very act of administering, or injecting, or causing someone to take orally a substance that renders in such a position that they are overpowered or sedated, the administration of such a substance will now be a standalone summary offence, which may lead a person to be imprisoned for up to 12 months and get a class A fine."
