Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I could name many of them. In this specific instance, the Minister has said that there is a range and that judicial discretion should be over a range of particular sanctions. Depending on the gravity, on indictment, and on the assessment of the judge, when a person is found guilty the judge will still have a range because the amendment states clearly that it is "imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years." That means there is a scale of sentencing ranging from a day, two days, a week or whatever up to ten years. There is also the issue of suspending part of the sentence.

I am clearly saying that we should not accept a situation where a person can get off by purely by paying a fine where he or she has been found guilty of an offence to exploit a child. If the Minister has said that to me then I must clearly say to her and the Government that they have failed in their duty to the children and the constitutional amendment that they have brought forward. It begs the question as to how sincere the Government was about that particular amendment to the Constitution.

I am not a member of Government but I am a Member of this Oireachtas. I do not want to be part of an Oireachtas which sends a signal to the Judiciary or society that a mere fine is sufficient where a person has been found guilty of an offence to exploit a child sexually, whether he or she is the direct exploiter or a participant. I do not for a second understand, and the Minister has not explained, why the change in the amendment came forward from the Government on Committee Stage. I am well aware that there are ideological groups globally that advocate all sorts of sexual freedoms, including pederasty and sex between children. We have seen such groups. A whole plethora of groups have argued the case.