Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

When I eventually unravelled what happened, a view that it was not defensible to make this distinction emerged and if we were striving for gender equality, on which the Bill was predicated, we should not say it is okay for girls to do with their boyfriends what boys could not do with their boyfriends, subject to protecting children from potentially serious damaging sexual acts, set out in the legislation such as buggery, sexual intercourse, bondage and other humiliating acts.

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