A public outcry and strong Opposition attack over statutory rape have left the Government in crisis, writes Stephen Collins, Political Correspondent
The political storm generated by the issue of statutory rape has rocked the Government. The Coalition was in full retreat last night as it desperately sought a consensus with the main Opposition parties on the way forward in an effort to defuse the controversy before it seriously destabilises the Government.
The impression generated in popular radio shows in recent days, however mistaken, that the Government is somehow soft on paedophiles had evoked memories of the Brendan Smyth affair, which led to the collapse of Albert Reynolds's coalition in 1994.
This triggered near panic among Fianna Fáil backbenchers, who were already reeling after recent opinion polls.
Instead of going ahead with its plan to adjourn the Dáil today for a 10-day bank holiday break, the Government has started working feverishly on plans to come back next week with legislation to deal with the fall-out from last week's Supreme Court judgment.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell attempted a massive damage limitation exercise yesterday. It began after an emergency Cabinet meeting, which took place after the Taoiseach had departed for the United States, decided that the only way to prevent the political controversy getting completely out of control was to get a consensus with the main Opposition parties on the issue as quickly as possible.
The Minister met the Opposition justice spokesmen and their advisers later in the afternoon for a full exchange of views in which he indicated that he was willing to incorporate most of their concerns in his planned legislation. He then went back to brief a special Cabinet sub-committee on the issue before he addressed the Seanad.
The Fianna Fáil parliamentary party held a special meeting last night to assess the growing crisis.
The political atmosphere has changed dramatically over the past few days following a concerted Opposition assault on the Government and the expression of public anger in a succession of radio programmes at the apparently casual response to the Supreme Court decision to declare the crime of statutory rape unconstitutional.
The Government appeared to have no inkling of what the public mood was like in the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court decision last week. The Coalition promised amending legislation within a matter of weeks and most of the newspapers last weekend carried apparently well-sourced leaks of what that legislation might contain.
The common theme in the stories was that the response would involve legislation reducing the effective age of consent for sexual activity to 14 for teenagers. By contrast, Fine Gael suggested raising the age of consent for boys to 17, the same age as currently applies to girls, so that there would be a common age of consent for both sexes.
When Mr McDowell went to Cabinet on Tuesday morning with his proposal to lower the age of consent he met with a firm rejection from colleagues. While there was no consensus around the Cabinet table the general feeling was that 14 was simply too young and that the State would be sending out the wrong signal to teenagers if the age of consent was lowered to that level.
If the Minister ran into a brick wall at Cabinet, he walked into a maelstrom in the Dáil later that day. In the meantime the High Court had decided on foot of the Supreme Court decision to release a 41-year-old man who had been convicted of having sex with a 12-year-old girl after plying her with alcohol.
"As a public representative and a father, I am appalled by today's decision by the High Court which releases a pervert back into society," thundered Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny. "The fact that a person who deliberately plied a young girl of confirmation age with alcohol and then had sex with her has now been released back into society at a time when this Government failed to see such a scenario coming is an appalling example of incompetence in respect of protecting young people. Who is in charge on the Government benches? Why did the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform state last week that there was no gaping hole in the law and no need to rush serious legislation?" he asked.
The Taoiseach was left groping for words in response to the Fine Gael leader's attack and the sudden onset of nerves on the Fianna Fáil back benches was palpable. It dawned on most Government politicians for the first time that the Supreme Court had detonated a real political landmine and they struggled to get to grips with the issue.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte waded into the fray, saying that parents were not interested in a dissertation on the criminal law. "They want to know if their children will be safe this weekend," he said. Mr Rabbitte then condemned the Government for wanting to adjourn the Dáil for 10 days after the bank holiday, saying the Taoiseach "really has lost touch with the people of this country".
The strength of the Opposition charge caused an immediate change of plan on the urgency of the legislation and the plan for a mini-recess was abandoned. Mr McDowell said on Tuesday night that he would be bringing his legislation into the Dáil next Wednesday.
However, he was still far from certain what would be in that legislation and, in particular, what the age of consent was going to be. By last night, he was telling the Seanad the Dáil would discuss the legislation tomorrow.
"The problem is that the Minister is responding to this like a lawyer rather than a politician. We simply can't go ahead and reduce the age to 14. We will be destroyed," said one distressed Fianna Fáil TD on Tuesday night.
After the Cabinet met on Tuesday morning and established a sub-committee to deal with the issue, Mr McDowell accepted the political point. He met the Opposition and made it clear he was willing to accept a higher age. While the details remain to be worked out it is evident that the episode has left the Coalition at sixes and sevens.