Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

The particular section with which we are dealing was tendered as an amendment by the Labour Party in the Dáil yesterday. It is modelled on section 14 of the UK Sexual Offences Act of 2003. Fine Gael's Private Members' Bill incorporated into Irish law section 15 of that Act, but section 14 of the UK Act is the one with which we are dealing.

I have to reject it for a number of reasons which are technical in nature. The wording, "if he or she intentionally arranges or facilitates something that he intends to do, intends another person to do, or believes that another person will do, in any part of the world", constitutes an extra territorial offence, while the wording "and doing it will involve the commission of an offence under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006", constitutes a domestic offence. The amendment does not hang together. One commits an offence under the 2006 Act only if one does something in Ireland. This is one occasion when the very skilled Labour Party draftsman got it slightly wrong.