Legal loophole - Laws must be carefully considered

THE grave dangers involved in rushing emergency legislation through the Dáil are graphically highlighted by the controversy raging over the horrendous case of a 14-year-old boy who was targeted by a paedophile ring.

As is now clear, in his undue haste to close the loophole of ‘honest mistake’ about the age of a child in a statutory rape case, Justice Minister Michael McDowell “inadvertently” repealed a law that prohibited the soliciting of minors for sex.

It is vital that legal protection for children should be watertight so as to make it as difficult as possible for paedophiles to gain access to children. Nonetheless, in closing one loophole, the Government succeeded in opening another, thus enabling sex perverts to get their predatory claws on children.