Vol. 415 No. 3
111 Mr. Cotter asked the Minister for Justice if, in the light of recent reports on the incidence of child sexual abuse, he intends to update the criminal law to deal with this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
As the Deputy will be aware, I published yesterday a Criminal Evidence Bill which takes account of the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission on the giving of evidence by children in cases of sexual abuse.
There are other criminal law issues raised by the commission in their report on child sexual abuse, such as, for example, in the case of an offence of unlawful sexual intercourse the lowering of the age of consent from the present age of 15 to 13 and, where a girl is between the ages of 15 and 17, providing that sexual intercourse would be a criminal offence only where the male participant is a person in authority or at least five years older than the girl in question. Obviously, there are matters that require the most detailed consideration. Any proposals for changes in the law which I may have in these and related areas will be announced by me in the normal manner.
