Written answers

Thursday, 2 April 2009

Department of Health and Children

Proposed Legislation

5:00 pm

Photo of Martin FerrisMartin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 89: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views on introducing legislation to enable the prosecution of people who carry out genital mutilation of young girls here in view of the level of cases estimated by some health sector workers. [13925/09]

Photo of Mary HarneyMary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Legal advice which I obtained in 2004 strongly indicated that Female Genital Mutilation would constitute an offence under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. In September 2006, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in its concluding observations on Ireland's second period report urged Ireland to continue its efforts to end the practice of Female Genital Mutilation through, inter alia, prohibiting it by law. I am currently examining the question of introducing specific legislation to ban Female Genital Mutilation in the context of the UNCRC's recommendations. I am not aware of any evidence that Female Genital Mutilation is being carried out in Ireland among established migrant ethnic communities now living here.

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