Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

Nobody is perfect in all of this but I do not think he is correct on this one. In regard to the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act and the Sex Offenders Act, there is provision for extra-territorial offences to be committed. A person in Ireland who aids and abets the commission of an offence under those Acts commits an offence in this country. I cannot accept the amendment because of the way this is phrased. It is not drafted in a technically correct way. It is clear that subsection (1A)(a)(i) deals with extra territorial activity and subsection (1A)(a)(ii) requires it to be an offence under domestic law. The same Act cannot in my view be comprehended by both paragraphs. The existing law of aiding and abetting the commission of a child sex offence abroad is sufficient to cover that particular issue. I cannot accept the amendment.