Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

With respect to Senator Bacik, it is not appropriate to be talking about wrapping up the debate until the issues are sufficiently clear. Some very important points are being ventilated here. The nub of this appears to be that there is a category of vulnerable people in respect of whom it would be an offence for a person in authority to engage in sexual activity, but it would not be an offence for a person not in authority. It is very unfortunate, to say the least, that that distinction between those two categories of people appears to hinge on the use of wording such as:

(a) a mental or intellectual disability, or

(b) a mental illness,

which is of such a nature or degree as to severely restrict the ability of the person to guard himself or herself against serious exploitation.

It appears that a person might not meet the lack of capacity to consent test, but nonetheless has a severely restricted ability to guard himself or herself against serious exploitation. It is unfortunate in legislation which seeks to protect vulnerable people that the criminal liability in that situation would only apply to a person in authority.