David Norris (Independent)

I shall bring myself back into order to pursue briefly one other matter. I ask for a debate on the age of consent. The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, indicated that his inclination was to reduce the age of consent to 16 years. Following widespread consultation, young people have said the same. I signal a warning to Fine Gael. When dealing in this House with the decriminalisation of homosexuality, a very fine Minister on the other side made a significant point about her refusal to introduce discrimination. Members on this side disgraced themselves by attempting to introduce a discriminatory age of consent for the purposes of political advantage. Unfortunately, I see Fine Gael tacking into the wind again on such issues. For example, it has come out against a reduction in the age of consent without any particularly good argument. It seems to believe it will be popular. Given our responsibility for young people, we must ensure our laws reflect the reality of what is happening on the ground and not introduce something for electioneering purposes that may garner a few votes from reactionary sources. Similarly, I understand a spokesperson in the other House opposed sections of the Colley report because they provided for adoption by same sex couples. This is done without any examination of the matter.