Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)

I welcome this Bill because female genital mutilation has no place in modern Irish society. While legislation is important in the drive to eliminate this practice, it is only one part of the necessary action. Legislative change should be accompanied by prevention, education and awareness-raising measures among communities where female genital mutilation is likely to be practised and among relevant service providers, such as medical personnel, gardaí, social workers and teachers.

In 2006, the report on Ireland of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern that some immigrant communities in Ireland continued to practise FGM. While there are no known cases of FGM in Ireland, there is anecdotal evidence of girls being taken abroad for it to be carried out. The problem, in so far as it arises in Ireland, affects girls and women who are at risk of having female genital mutilation carried out on them, and those who live in Ireland who have already experienced it. The Children's Rights Alliance identifies possible risks in regard to female genital mutilation in Ireland. It states girls may be at risk because they are born into families that practise female genital mutilation. The alliance cites two scenarios: the procedure could take place in Ireland, or girls could be brought from Ireland to their parents' country of origin to have it performed. Families from female genital mutilation-practising regions have reported serious pressure from overseas families to bring daughters back to those regions to have the procedure carried out.

Some societies view female genital mutilation as a way of preserving and communicating a set of value systems upon which communities are organised. Rituals and symbols associated with FGM are designed to teach girls about their roles as mothers and wives within their society and to instil a sense of belonging within their culture. Criticisms of FGM can be interpreted as criticisms of an entire cultural identity.

In many societies, women's innate sexuality is perceived as a potential danger to social order. Women's sexual behaviour is often interpreted as a reflection of the values and morals of the families to which they belong. Female genital mutilation is carried out to inhibit women's and girls' sexual desires as a way of preventing sexual behaviour which is considered deviant, securing virginity upon marriage and finally ensuring marital fidelity.

Understanding the reasons families may continue to practice female genital mutilation is essential to developing sensitive and effective intervention strategies to support parents to abandon the practice because criticisms of female genital mutilation can be interpreted as criticisms of an entire cultural identity. Girls who have undergone the female genital mutilation procedure will require a range of supports, including medical and, in some cases, psychological, supports. Legal measures, culturally sensitive interventions and the development of a national capacity to stop the practice are vital steps towards ending it.

The women's health council called for the establishment of an intergovernmental working group to tackle the issue and to co-ordinate the response. It stated any strategy tackling an issue such as FGM must take the dual approach of legislating against the practice at a national and international level, and empowering and educating people at the local level so as to bring about the extinction of this practice.

In an Irish context perhaps the most important task, after establishing an adequate legislative framework, is to ensure the practice does not become established among migrant ethnic communities. Those charged with service provision, in particular in the health system, must be equipped with the appropriate training and information to deal with FGM if and when they encounter it. How this can be achieved in the current economic climate and with the cuts in the HSE will be challenging for the Department but, along with the legislative framework, it is necessary.

The provision in the Bill for prosecutions in other jurisdictions is very important. It introduces an offence of the removal of a girl or a woman from the State for the purpose of FGM. It also clarifies that parental consent or ritual or customary reasons are not defences to charges under this Bill. Experience in other jurisdictions indicates it may be difficult to effectively implement the legislation against FGM taking place in foreign countries as prosecution rates are low. However, it is a very important provision because it states that we in Ireland as a society believe this practice should not continue.

The Bill defines female genital mutilation for the first time in Irish law and recognises it as a distinct serious offence against girls and women. For this reason I welcome the Bill and I will support it. It is also important that the Department puts in place strategies on education and supports for women who have undergone FGM so any potential medical and psychological damage can be assessed and treated to make it easier for them to live with it. Education programmes should also be put in place for new immigrants to ensure they are aware our society does not support the practice of female genital mutilation.

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