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The Green Party has welcomed the
legislation currently being debated in the Houses of the Oireachtas,
which will close the legal loophole regarding statutory rape.
However, the Party has identified a number of problematic areas in
the legislation, and has tabled a number of amendments which should
be carried through today.
Green Party
Justice spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD
said: "I welcome this legislation in that it will bring a close to
the loophole existing in our legislation since last week's Supreme
Court ruling. However, I am disappointed that the Minister for
Justice has chose to use this emergency legislation to deal with a
much wider range of issues which require lengthy consideration and
debate. With this in mind, I have tabled three amendments to the
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006.
"I feel that the
Minister should take this opportunity to incorporate Article 3 of
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which states that in
all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child
shall be a primary consideration. This principle should be
incorporated into the Bill.
"The proposed
Section 5 (1) of the draft legislation which states that 'a female
child under the age of 17 years shall not be guilty of an offence by
reason only of her engaging in an act of sexual intercourse' is
contentious. It is completely anomalous to the principle of equality
and must be removed from this Bill. I am proposing that this section
be replaced with a clause which would ensure that
a person who engages in a sexual act with a person
between 15 and 17 years but who is no more two years his or her
senior, will be guilty of a lesser offence and can receive a penalty
of community service, rather than a prison sentence or a fine.
"Finally, we have
had less than 24 hours to consider this piece of legislation. The
Bill not only addresses the legal loophole exposed by last week's
Supreme Court ruling, but goes much further than that and attempts
to deal with complex issues which deserve much longer periods of
consideration and consultation. For that reason I have asked that a
‘Sunset Clause' be attached to this Bill, which means that it must
be reviewed in less than two years time."
Note:
Green Party
Amendments to the
Criminal Law
(Sexual Offences) Bill 2006
Amendment 1
To include a
section which states,
"That the interests of the child should be a primary consideration
in line with Article 3 of the of the UN Convention of the Rights of
the Child"
Amendment 2
Section 5
Delete
"A
female child under the age of 17 years shall not be guilty of an
offence under this Act by reason only of her engaging in an act of
sexual intercourse".
Replace with,
"Any person who
engages in a sexual act with a person between the ages of 15 and 17
years but who is no more two years his or her senior, shall be
guilty of a lesser offence and shall be subject to a penalty of
community service, the duration and nature of which shall be at the
discretion of the Director of Public Prosecution and the Courts."
Amendment 3
Insert following
Section 9: "This legislation will be reviewed and rewritten
no later than 1st June 2008."
Ciarán's recent press releases on
this issue:
1 June 2006
Green Party calls for Criminal Law (Sexual
Offences) Bill 2006 to be reviewed by Ombudsman for Children
31 May 2006
Green Party repeats call for amendment solution to statutory rape
loophole
- Following unproductive briefing meeting with Minister
for Justice this evening
31 May 2006
Green Party proposes new amendment to close loophole in Statutory
Rape Law
30 May 2006
Green
Party calls for immediate introduction of statutory rape legislation
26 May 2006
Green Party repeats call for immediate
legislative reform to protect young people
24 May 2006
Green Party calls for immediate
legislative reform to protect young people |
