Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I share the outrage expressed by every decent person in the country that a man who plied a young woman with alcohol and pleaded guilty to carnal knowledge of her should walk free in these circumstances. Everyone is rightly concerned that something like that could happen. It is her plight and the plight of young women like her whose innocence has been disgracefully taken away that is our concern.

I do not have all of the data in respect of the numbers requested by the Deputy. There are six persons in jail to whom section 1(1) applies. I will ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to contact the Deputy regarding the other data, which I do not have to hand.

Never in the House has any Government or spokesperson on justice suggested we should change the law and have as a reasonable defence a mistake in respect of age.

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