Sex at 16? No, let’s forget all our hang-ups and hold the line at 17

PUBLIC controversy about sex is nothing new. In fact, for part of the 1980s and early 1990s it seemed to be almost all we talked about. The latest controversy about the age of consent for sex seems at first to be more of the same.

But on closer examination there appears to be something new at work here.

The age of consent controversy rewrites the script in a number of unexpected ways. Typically, sexual debates in Ireland have followed a predictable pattern. A controversy arises because of some legislative proposal or a court decision.