Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I appreciate the support of Deputy Kenny and the Fine Gael Party in this matter. Like many laws, this law has been in place for three quarters of a century. Looking over the sections last night and this morning, I saw that it was framed for a very different society and age when people did not consider issues that we would all consider the norm today. While the point is very clear, the one raised by the Deputy and many others must be considered.

We must look back at what was said in 1990 and 1998. It is interesting that, when people examined the issue eight years ago, not 75 years ago, they saw no requirement for change. I am not sure why that was so or whether it was felt that it opened up a broad range of other complex issues. I think that may have been the case. In retrospect, looking at the judgment, one sees that it left something open, but we must ask ourselves what are the other ramifications. We must consider that urgently, and the Deputy mentioned some of those points.

The stark conclusion is that there can be no return to a law that has been struck down. In that case, there is no law, and we must move quickly to address that. Yesterday's judgment has highlighted that, regarding underage girls, where there is strict liability, there is no defence of mistake. I understand from the briefing I received this morning that any case would have to be taken individually. There can be no blanket cover for other cases, such as those of people in jail or on the sex offenders' register. It is not the case that people can walk free, but the judgment will obviously be examined so it is important that we move quickly in this case.

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