Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 3, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following subsection:

"(5) Where a person guilty of an offence under this section is, at the time of the commission of the offence, under the age of 17 years, any record of a conviction under this section shall be expunged once he or she reaches the age of majority.".

This follows from the previous amendment. The effect of this amendment is to ensure that, in line with the aim of not seriously criminalising peer sex but to catch older sexual predators, teenage sexual partners, specifically males, in light of section 5 which we have discussed, would not be forced to carry a criminal record throughout their lives. That is a matter to which Senator Hayes has alluded. Let us face it. Such a record would prevent them from getting visas to the USA or Australia, and possibly affect future job prospects.