Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Okay. RCNI's opening statement refers to a young man of 13 or 14 and Dr. Saidléar used the word "boy". This is defined differently under the Children Act 2001. The RCNI's argument is that with regard to a young man of 13 or 14, the new head 3 will mention that physical, mental or intellectual disability, mental illness and his age and maturity can be taken into account. Also, section 2(3) refers to the jury being able to "have regard to [all] the steps ... taken by the accused to ascertain whether the woman consented". Defences are limited then in intoxication-type offences. The RCNI is stating that a child of 13 or 14 will not be allowed to argue that he was not mature enough to understand that there were steps it was necessary to have taken and that he should have identified the limits to consent.