Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree completely that this is a very complex area. That is why I would have preferred if the Minister did not insert this particular section and she had dealt with the issue in its entirety, as she suggested, in new legislation While I do not doubt her sincerity in dealing with incest in separate legislation, the reality is if this legislation passes, we will be increasing the penalty. I want to be clear on this. The section she proposes to insert - she referred to the Supreme Court case which dealt with females under the age of 17 - deals with females over the age of 17. To refer to the Supreme Court case to justify the insertion of this section is wrong at a minimum and misleading at best. We are referring to women over the age of 17. The Minister still has not demonstrated to me the public good that would be served by increasing a sentence ranging from a maximum sentence of seven years to a minimum of three years to a life sentence. The only rationale she has given is that she wants to equate the sentences that would apply to the male and the female. The Minster should do what she suggested she wanted to do and that is deal with this issue in a separate legislation. Let us make no mistake about this, we are not saying that if this section is removed, there will be no penalty. The penalty of a sentence of three to seven years will still be in place. I will be pressing my amendment because I do not believe the Minister has demonstrated what public good would be served by increasing that sentence to life in prison. If the Minister wants to deal with this as a separate issue, let us deal with it as a separate issue in separate legislation.

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