Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I do not think there is a right answer to this. I am aware that the special rapporteur on child protection said the age should be 12. Other expert advice says it should be 16. It was 18; it has come down to 16. We discussed this at length with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman's, Department, which settled on the age of 16 in the 2022 Act on adoption. As we would expect, that is still firmly its view. That is the decision the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, brought through in 2022. I am open to this. We now have experts with different views. Some say 12, some say 16. I need to stay aligned with the other Acts, which all say 16. Essentially, at the moment, it is Government policy that the age is 16 and that is reflected in the various Acts. It could certainly be looked at, not only in the context of this Bill, but as regards the right to information generally. We now have the special rapporteur's report. In the light of that, should there be a review of broad Government policy? It would not be for the Department of Health. I am open to it, but I cannot do it in this Bill. It would need to be done across the Government and then amending legislation would be brought in, a miscellaneous Bill, to change the ages in their entirety. I understand the argument and have a lot of respect for it, but it is not something we can do here. However, I would be happy to support a committee letter or to add my voice to a broader review in light of the special rapporteur's advice and that of the other gentleman the Deputy mentioned. Is this something the Government should look at as a matter of policy?