Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

First, one would ask what is meant by grooming. It was put to me that grooming did not arise from a chance encounter, and I accepted that ultimately. From that point of view, in order to prove grooming it had to be proved that a person lulled a child into a sense of false security and trust and that, essentially, it would not be grooming if that arose from a chance encounter on one occasion. It would have to be shown that there were two encounters or communications to achieve, as mentioned by the Minister, a pattern qualifying as grooming.

The view might be taken that there should be a separate offence.

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