Seanad report: There was applause in the chamber when Minister for Justice Michael McDowell told the House that the State had won its Supreme Court appeal and that an order for the rearrest of "Mr A" had been given. The Minister's dramatic announcement came during the debate on the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill.
Mr McDowell asked the House "in a spirit of humility" to accept that the Bill was a genuine, honest and decent effort to address the Supreme Court decision in the short run.
Referring to the defences that persons accused of sex offences might be able to make about their belief that girls were not underage, he said the same situation could affect girls aged 12 to 15. He had recently been at an event attended by many girls of that age group.
"One striking fact was that I could have put them up to 16 myself. I knew they were in a particular class in a particular school and that was my only way of knowing what age those girls were. They looked remarkably mature, attractive young girls and they looked well above the age of the boys in the same class with them."
Defendants were now being enabled to create a doubt in the minds of juries by arguing that it was reasonable to believe that girls were older.
This was complicated by the fact that, in many cases, offences were prosecuted many years afterwards, when juries looking at alleged female victims could not imagine what they had looked like five or 10 years earlier when offences were supposed to have taken place. The Minister said the Government had authorised moves for the establishment of a joint Oireachtas all-party committee which would, among other things, consider the broader implications of these issues.
Following Mr McDowell's announcement about the "A" case appeal outcome, David Norris (Ind) said he congratulated the Minister and the legal team involved.
"I think this is a very good day. I am not a vengeful person but I am glad I was in this House to hear the good news that this man will be locked up for his most loathsome crimes."
Shane Ross (Ind) said they were all enormously relieved about the Supreme Court decision, and none more so than the Minister. The court ruling would do a great deal to defuse the public unease which had been rightly stirred up by newspaper photographs of rapists being released on technical, albeit strong technical grounds.
House leader Mary O'Rourke said she thought there were not enough safeguards for children in the Constitution.
Members on both sides complained when the debate was terminated after four hours.
Margaret Cox (FF) said it was not right that a young woman should have more rights than a young man under the new law.
She opposed the passing of the Bill and said boys must be protected as much as girls. The Minister had stated that children should not be born out of criminality, but if they allowed a man aged under 17 to be prosecuted and the girl was not, then any child out of that union was being born out of criminality, not of the mother but of the father.
Maurice Cummins (FG) said it was disgraceful that the debate was being guillotined.