Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Criminal Law (Incest) (Amendment) Bill. I welcome the legislation and commend Deputy Naughten on bringing it before the House as it is a hugely important issue that requires quick action. Leaving victims and children waiting for proper and adequate legislation is never an option when dealing with issues such as child sexual abuse and the exploitation of young people.

I am getting sick and tired of listening to all the chat from the Government on the rights of children and abuse victims, while the same Government makes life difficult for people such as Louise O'Keeffe, a child abuse victim, by chasing her through the courts, both national and international and particularly at the European Court of Human Rights, and wasting taxpayers' money on hounding sexual abuse victims. These are horrific things to do to victims of abuse. It is important to point that out in this debate. The Government is also hounding children with a disability through our courts. That is the reality. Thousands of euro in taxpayers' money is being spent on hounding people in the courts when it could be spent on services, be it for a child abuse victim or a child with disability, and put to proper and adequate use.

While it is important to have the legislation before us today, we must also have proper and adequate prevention measures. The legislation only kicks in when the crime has been committed. My main gripe with many of the Government's Ministers is that we must be more proactive in ensuring that the front-line staff are doing their jobs to a very high standard. Sadly, having been a backbench Deputy for over 12 years, I have encountered many cases where the reaction was slow when one is very worried about a particular family. I do not like to say that. Before getting into the nuts and bolts of the legislation, we must have people working in child services and a Minister for Justice and Equality and a Minister for Children and Youth Affairs who focus on good quality services and getting the right people working on the front line, because they are the people who can prevent many situations occurring and having to deal with them through the courts. It is also important to make that point today.

Let us consider the details of what is involved. The term "incest" refers to sexual intercourse occurring between close blood relatives. Close relatives include a child, sibling, parent or grandparent. This is a criminal offence and charges are brought under the Punishment of Incest Act 1908, as amended by the Criminal Law (Incest Proceedings) Act 1995. There are no age limits so the fact that both parties are adults is irrelevant to a finding of guilt. However, a girl under 17 years of age cannot be prosecuted for incest, notwithstanding that she may have initiated the intercourse. This is based on the concept of the girl as a victim in every such instance, despite the possibility of evidence to the contrary. The maximum sentence for incest is life imprisonment for males and seven years for females as a result of amendments made by section 5 of the 1995 Act, perhaps reflecting the traditional view on the participants involved in the crime. Consent is no defence, but without consent the man may instead be charged with rape or defilement of a child. Again, these matters are covered by the legislation.

Delving further into this issue, the Criminal Justice Act 1993 was enacted after the Kilkenny incest cast in 1993 in which a man who was found guilty of incest and abuse of his daughter received a sentence of seven years, which was the maximum sentence under the 1908 Act. There was a huge row in response to this and the Criminal Justice Act 1993 increased the maximum penalty for male incest to 20 years. The maximum punishment for incest for a female aged over 17 years remains at seven years under section 2 of the 1908 Act. This shorter sentence for women has caused huge controversy, which is the reason for the Bill before us today. The judge in that case pointed to the possibility for legislative intervention.

This is the opportunity. I was interested to hear the Minister's remarks earlier that legislation is being prepared. Every time a sensible proposal comes up, during the Friday sittings or at other times, it is blown out of the water. I am extremely disappointed about this. We need to deal with these issues professionally and act swiftly. There are huge problems with regard to the abuse of children.

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