Labour have accused the Government of being misleading when it announced it was planning to raise the age of criminal responsibility from seven to ten years.
Minister of State for Children Brian Lenihan told today's Irish Times he believed it was not right that children under the age of 10 were entering the criminal justice system and that a welfare-centred approach would be more appropriate.
But Labour justice spokesperson Joe Costello said today Mr Lenihan was planning to reduce the age of criminal responsibility, not raise it.
“In fact what the government appears to be doing is planning to reduce, rather than raise the age of criminal responsibility,” said Mr Costello.
He pointed to the 2001 Childrens Act where the age of criminal responsibility was set at 12. The act states: 'It shall be conclusively presumed that no child under the age of 12 is capable of committing an offence’.
Mr Costello added: “This is the law as set by the Oireachtas but unfortunately the Government has refused to bring this and other sections of the Children Act 2001 into operation, so we are left in the ludicrous situation where the effective age of criminal responsibility remains at seven. Is there any other country in the civilised world, where children as young as seven can be regarded as criminals?”
Ireland's age of criminal responsibilty is the lowest in Europe and has been sharply criticised by campaigners and a UN committee on children's rights.