Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

Finally, a very important subject with regard to the protection and rights of children has been touched on in the House. The law is lacking. It is a most serious issue when it is taken up by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. James Hamilton, the most senior law officer in the State. Senator Fitzgerald referred to a report in The Irish Times which states:

Prosecutors find themselves equipped with a far more limited range of legislative tools, James Hamilton said, at the conference at University College Cork. He called for the codification of the law on sexual offences, to make it accessible and comprehensible. It was essential the law was clear and easily understood, and not just by lawyers, he said.