Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

I congratulate Senator Ivana Bacik on identifying with and progressing this issue and ensuring the Bill was brought before the House. I also thank the Minister for supporting the legislation and introducing it at such an early date.

I remember raising the issue of female genital mutilation with Members of the Oireachtas in 1992 or 1993. I did so because an Irish doctor working in London had suddenly been confronted with the problem following a major influx of refugees from Somali to London. As a result, a special clinic was opened in Northwick Park Hospital to deal with the issue. Staff at the clinic quickly learned that it was not easy to approach the issue of female genital mutilation, which affects more than 100 million people worldwide. In most of the countries where the practice is performed, it is a cultural issue. Staff at Northwick Park Hospital found that a large number of the women who had experienced female genital mutilation could not speak English. Unfortunately, their spouses could speak English and within two weeks of the clinic opening staff noted that the information they were providing for patients was not being correctly translated by their spouses. As a result, the hospital had to hire translators. This highlights the cultural aspect of the problem of female genital mutilation and an unwillingness to accept the changes required.

This legislation, while welcome, is long overdue. As Senator Bacik noted, legislation outlawing female genital mutilation was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1985 and updated in 2003. Moreover, female genital mutilation has been addressed in legislation in most European Union member states. Comprehensive legislation is in place in France, in particular, where a number of prosecutions have been brought.

As a result of the influx of migrants in the past decade, female genital mutilation has become a significant issue in Ireland. In 1992 and 1993 concerns were raised with me that the British legislation was more comprehensive than ours in this area in that the former permitted prosecutions to be brought. The doctor who opened the clinic at Northwick Park Hospital ended up giving evidence before the British Medical Council to have a person removed from the medical register for performing this procedure in the United Kingdom. The individual in question was concerned that someone could be brought to Ireland and was not satisfied that our legislation was sufficiently comprehensive. The Bill before us is comprehensive in the sense that it clearly sets out a definition of the offence of female genital mutilation. While I am aware that concerns have been expressed as to whether the definition is sufficiently comprehensive, it makes it virtually impossible for anyone to use any defence. It is close to what would make it impossible for anyone to use any such defence in this country. I know, however, that some Members will be tabling amendments to make the situation tighter.

I have a problem concerning section 4, although this will be dealt with at a later stage. It concerns the fact that for someone to be prosecuted here for having performed FGM outside this country, the act must also be illegal in the country where it was carried out. I wonder if this section can be re-examined in this respect. The UK legislation goes a step further in that even where FGM is legal in the country in which it is performed, it is still possible to prosecute. Under the provisions of the Bill before us, however, it may not be possible to do so. If there are constitutional reasons the Bill cannot be so amended, I will obviously have to take them on board. However, when cultural pressures are brought to bear, people can be removed from one country in order for the procedure to be performed in another. Under section 4 it would appear that if the procedure is legal in a foreign country, then a subsequent prosecution would not succeed here. I will therefore seek to amend that section accordingly.

As other speakers have said, FGM is very much a cultural issue and is not just about legislation. There is only so much we can do by way of legislation, but the Bill is about making the procedure illegal and ensuring that we have a comprehensive legal framework to discourage people from continuing the practice. We also need to educate people, but it must be borne in mind that it will take time to change attitudes to a matter which affects so many. The focus of such education must be on people who come from countries where FGM is an accepted procedure.

I welcome the legislation, which is long overdue and should be enacted at the earliest possible date. I thank the Minister for taking this matter on board so early after his appointment.