Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Yesterday's Supreme Court decision has serious consequences for the protection of young girls. Today, it is not illegal for a man to have consensual sex with a girl under 15 years of age. This is a grave situation and requires action by the House. As a result of the ruling that section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1935 is unconstitutional, it is possible that people in jail for having sex with girls under 15 may be able to have their convictions struck down. There were 54 cases of statutory rape in recent years, raising the possibility of convicted sex offenders applying to have their names removed from the sex offenders register, which was put in place to protect young people.

The Government had fair warning of this. The Law Reform Commission recommended a change in this legislation as far back as 1990. We live in an Ireland that is very different from the Ireland of 1935, when this legislation was enacted. This is a far more dangerous country for young people in a society where drinking among the young has reached epidemic proportions and civility is absent in many areas. Protection of our young people must be a priority for legislators.

What urgent response will the Government make? What is the Taoiseach's view of the implications for those on the sex offenders register? Does the Government have a view on successful appeals to previous convictions arising from the judgment?

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