The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Child Protection is to propose to the Government a change to the Constitution to make it impossible to defend sex with a young child on the grounds of mistake as to age, The Irish Times has learned. Miriam Donohoe reports.
The committee, established in the wake of the statutory rape controversy, is recommending in a draft report a constitutional amendment to allow for an offence with "absolute liability" in relation to sex with children under a certain age.
While the draft report doesn't specify an age, it is understood the committee has discussed proposing the age of 12. The report also proposes that people in positions of trust in relation to children, such as sports coaches, would be unable to avail of a defence of mistake as to the age of the child.
The draft report, which is approximately 90 pages long, will be discussed by committee members at a meeting today. The committee was established earlier this year after a Supreme Court judgment found that a man could argue he had genuinely believed that a girl was old enough to offer consent for sex.
Chaired by Fianna Fáil TD Peter Power, the committee began its deliberations six weeks ago. Its members include Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, Minister of State for Children Brian Lenihan, Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe and Labour justice spokesman Brendan Howlin. It is the first time Ministers have been nominated to serve as members of an Oireachtas committee, indicating the delicate nature of the issue.
One of the committee's key functions is to examine whether the Constitution needs to be amended following the statutory rape case and whether there needs to be an addition to the Constitution on the rights for the protection of children. The committee is due to sign off on its report and present it to the Government before the end of this month. About 50 groups made written submissions.
In his submission, details of which were revealed in The Irish Times last week, the Director of Public Prosecutions, James Hamilton, recommended a constitutional referendum to guarantee that men are not able to escape rape charges by claiming they genuinely did not know their sexual partner was under age.
"It is reasonable that there should be an age at which sex with a young person should be an offence, even if that person consents," Mr Hamilton said in his submission. His testimony was given in private on September 26th.
In a separate development, Minister of State for Children Brian Lenihan briefed the Cabinet yesterday on Government proposals for a constitutional referendum to protect the rights of children, as announced by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, last Friday.
He said he would write to Opposition leaders and interested groups to start the consultation process.