A proposal contained in a recent report from the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Child Protection has been criticised by Catholic Bishops. In its report the committee recommended that the age of sexual consent should be lowered to 16, a move that has caused the bishops to express alarm. The three Fine Gael members of the committee had argued in favour of keeping the age of consent at 17.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was quick to react to the bishops' comment and was sympathetic. He said the bishops were right to voice their concerns and generate debate, adding that it wasn't a foregone conclusion that the committee's recommendations would be implemented in full. It has since been suggested that Fianna Fáil ministers disagreed with the committee's proposal and that they supported the idea of keeping the age of consent at 17.
The debate developed with one committee member, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, criticising the bishops for being vocal now, after failing to accept an invitation to make a submission to the committee. A spokesman for the bishops was quick to dispute this. The invitation, he said, had been sent to the Church's National Child Protection Board, a fact that was not known to the bishops. The board's chairman Justice Anthony Hederman had, according to Mr McDowell, informed the committee that he was not in a position to make a submission because of lack of resources and would respond to the Committee's report.
About Me
- Liam Ferrie
- After a career in the IT sector I spent the final 25 years of my working life, along with my wife Pauline, as online publisher to the Irish Diaspora. From 1987 onward the email version of the Irish Emigrant became a vital link with home for many Irish people who had settled overseas. In retirement I am involved with the Computer and Communications Museum of Ireland. I also travel when the opportunity arises and most years Pauline and I walk a Camino to Santiago de Compostela.