Govt facing intense criticism as Dáil debates rape bill

The Government is facing intense criticism from the opposition today during the Dáil debate on new legislation to replace Ireland's underage sex laws.

Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte accused Minister for Justice Michael McDowell of being more concerned about his own career than protecting the victims of statutory rape.

He also said the minister's proposed bill would create a discriminatory situation by making it a crime for a boy to have sex with an underage girl, while no such offence exists for girls.

Those concerns were echoed by Green Party TD Ciaran Cuffe, who said the situation was absurd, and by Labour TD Brendan Howlin, who said it could give rise to another legal challenge.

Fine Gael TD Jim O'Keefe, meanwhile, said it appeared the Government had learned nothing from the Brendan Smyth case.

He said a review that followed this controversy recommended an early warning system in relation to sex cases involving children, but the recommendation appears to have been ignored.