Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 4, to delete lines 5 to 7.

We have been through all of these before and I wish to revisit them as best I can but without labouring the situation. We divided the Committee on this amendment. I wish to again put the proposition to the Minister and the House that section 2(2)(d), lines 5 to 7, allow for what I would call a deficiency in the legislation to continue. It provides for women only under 18 years of age in terms of the absolute banning of female genital mutilation and allows a situation occur where women of 18 years and more are not deemed to come under the terms of this legislation.

It is wrong to say a person is not guilty of an offence under subsection (1) if the woman is 18 years of age or more. As I said on Committee Stage, women on attaining their 18th birthday are no less vulnerable to the pressures that would present when they are 17 years and 364 days old. It is a flaw in our approach and I am not at all taken by the counter-argument in support of retaining this statement that it could be carried out on women who would wish for cosmetic or other surgical reasons to embark on this act. It is a barbaric act and it is wrong and women without exception are being compelled because of forces within their family, community and culture.

This, of course, has become an area of concern to us because of the growing number of women and people from other cultures and countries coming to this country over the past short number of decades. I appeal to the Minister to again reflect on this because the same pressures and forces will apply post-18 years of age that would apply pre-18 years of age and that the young woman of whatever age will be no better able to resist those forces on attaining her 18th birthday than previously. We must give absolute support, guarantee and protection to women of all ages against this horrific and absolutely unnecessary procedure.

See this speech in context