McDowell tagged a lame-duck minister
Labour justice spokesman Brendan Howlin said the minister has also failed to consult properly with opposition parties on emergency legislation to overcome the child rape crisis.
Describing what he called “the most extraordinary meeting I have ever had with a minister,” Mr Howlin said he and his colleagues had been presented with a questionnaire by the minister at a meeting with him on Wednesday.
“He did not present us with draft legislation. He did not present us with a draft bill and ask us for our consensus which was required in this crisis. Instead, he gave us a check list, almost as if he wanted to divide the opposition rather than seek a consensus.”
Mr Howlin added that the understanding at the time was that the Government intended to recall the Dáil next Wednesday to allow opposition parties to consult their parliamentary members on the matter.
“However, an hour-and-a-half later the minister had reversed engines entirely. He informed the Seanad that his department was on a fifth draft of legislative proposals that we have yet not seen, and intended to recall the Dáil and Seanad on Friday.
“This is a Government and minister who is making it up hour by hour,” he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
Mr Howlin said the Dáil would only be given half-an-hour to deal with the matter and, while this would suffice for stopgap legislation, it would not be enough for more comprehensive law reform.
Mr Howlin added that the Government had not offered alternatives to freeing convicted abusers and had failed to grasp the sensitivities of victims of child abuse.
“What is the Government doing on protecting our children? What is the strategy on proffering alternative charges against some of the men involved? What is the strategy for keeping victims informed so they will not have to find out in the papers their abusers might be on the streets tomorrow?”
Mr Howlin described as “breathtaking” the fact that the minister was unaware of a major assault on any legislation under his remit.
“I must accept the man’s word for it, although it is contradicted by the Tánaiste in the Dáil who said the Department was aware of it. It seems amazing that he should not have been aware of it. Through his behaviour in last few days, Michael McDowell has abdicated responsibility and authority. All he holds onto is office.”
MARCH 6, 1987
Attorney General requests the Law Reform Commission (LRC) to submit proposals for reform of the law relating to rape and the sexual abuse of children.
LRC issues report to the Attorney General outlining its research and proposals for reform.
LRC publishes a Consultation Paper on Child Sexual Abuse.
Seminar held by the Law Society attended by 124 people, including judges, lawyers, officers of the Department of Justice and from the offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office.
The LRC recommends that the law be changed to allow those accused of sex offences against young girls to defend themselves on the grounds that they genuinely believed, and had reasonable grounds for believing, that the girl involved was above the age of consent.
Government decides not to change the 1935 Act, despite the recommendations of the LRC
The Chief State Solicitor tells the Department of Justice that a legal challenge concerning the absence of this “mistake as to age” defence, relating to sexual offences committed on young girls, is under way.
Supreme Court rules that a man charged with the sexual assault of a young girl could enter a “mistake as to age” defence. Says it will hear arguments at a later date as to the constitutionality of Section 1 (1) of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 1935, which bars the use of this defence by those accused of other sex crimes against young girls.
Article appears in Law Society Gazette saying this judgement “signifies a substantial change in Irish law”.
Supreme Court rules section 1 (1) of the act to be unconstitutional, as it does not allow for a man accused of statutory rape to enter a “mistake as to age” defence.
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