Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he or his Department have correspondence over the years regarding the issues exposed in the May 2006 Supreme Court decision on the A case; and the reasons for his legal experts not knowing about this potential disaster. [22073/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The only correspondence which it has been possible to find in my Department which argued for the introduction of a defence of reasonable mistake as to age were in the context of the views invited from the public to the issues addressed in the Discussion Paper on the Law on Sexual Offences published by my Department in 1998. The Discussion Paper quoted the Law Reform Commission's recommendation that a defence of mistake as to age should be introduced on the ground that "Irish law in this area was unduly harsh and wholly out of step with the law in other jurisdictions". No mention was made in the LRC Report or elsewhere that their might be a constitutionality question mark over the strict liability offences of carnal knowledge of girls under 15 and 17 years of age.

As the Tánaiste has told this House, on 29 November 2002 my Department was informed in writing by the Chief State Solicitor's Office of an application seeking judicial review in the High Court to challenge certain provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1935, (The "C.C." proceedings). An official promptly phoned the Chief State Solicitor's Office to ascertain whether they needed any response from the Department in relation to the application. The answer was in the negative. In January 2003, the Chief State Solicitor's Office repeated its undertaking to advise the Department of any development in the proceedings. No further communication was received in my Department from the Chief State Solicitor's Office or any other source concerning the "C.C." proceedings. Neither I nor my Department were notified of the hearing or outcome of the High Court case, which the State won, or the subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court.

In response to the Supreme Court decision of 23 May 2006, I published the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006 on 1 June 2006. It passed all stages in the Dáil and Seanad and was signed into law by the President on the following day.