House passes legislation closing underage sex loophole

Emergency Government legislation to plug a legal loophole on under-age sex tonight passed through all stages of the Oireachtas and was due be signed into law by President Mary McAleese.

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006 and agreed amendments secured majority support in the Dail and Seanad after a debate lasting a total of eight hours.

Ten days of unprecedented political drama ended when the Seanad’s Leas Cathaoirleach Paddy Burke rose from his seat at 7.30pm and declared: “The Bill is hereby passed.”

A Government despatch rider was on standby to deliver a vellum copy of the legislation to the Phoenix Park residence of President Mary McAleese who is expected to immediately sign the Bill into law.

The president is normally allowed a period of up to seven days to endorse bills but the Oireachtas passed a special early-signing motion to fast-track the process.

Introducing the controversial legislation in the Dáil earlier, a defiant Justice Minister Michael McDowell warned that the controversial Supreme Court judgement on May 23 had forced the Government to draft emergency legislation which may allow vitims to be cross-examined in the witness box by their attackers’ lawyers.

During highly-charged Dáil exchanges, the minister said: “Let nobody in this House believe that this is going to make protection of children easier or the lot of abused children in the criminal justice process or in the courtroom any less agonising.

“On the contrary it will make it significantly more unpleasant for those children.”

Amid Opposition interruptions, a combative Mr McDowell insisted: “When the frenzy is over, it will be seen that I and my colleagues in Government and the Attorney General have acted competently, honestly, truthfully and with the best interests of children in mind.”

Opposition leader Enda Kenny said during a strong speech that the Coalition was oblivious to the scale of the crisis and he claimed it was the most dangerous time he ever witnessed in his 20-year Dail career.

“I have never seen such a gap between a government on one side and the people on the other.”

As a father, he explined that his heart went out to children who had been betrayed by adults and were now betrayed by the state.

“This time the guilty walk free and hope and innocence are crushed in their wake,” he added.

Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte claimed the Government’s response to the political and criminal crisis was like watching a car crash in slow motion.

Arts, Sport & Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue described Mr McDowell as one of the best criminal lawyers in the country and said people should trust his judgement.

He described independent TDs who sought the minister’s resignation as political gadflies.

The Labour Party’s justice spokesman, Brendan Howlin, said: “Rushed law is normally flawed law, if not outright bad law.”

In the Seanad, Fine Gael Senator Maurice Cummins said to Mr McDowell: “You have played politics with a serious issue and misrepresented the facts to save your skin.”

The Bill restores the offence of statutory rape to the statute books and sets 17 as the age of consent for boys and girls.

Engaging in a sexual act with a child between 15 and 17 will now be punishable by up to five years in jail, or ten years where the accused was a person in authority.

The Supreme Court ruled on May 23 that Section 1.1 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1935 did not allow for a man accused of statutory rape to claim that he made an honest mistake about the victim’s age.

This specific defence is clearly enshrined in the new Bill.

Mr McDowell said an all-party Oireachtas Committee would monitor the future implementation of the Bill and suggest amendments if necessary.