Young Fine Gael supports lowering the age of consent to 16
A "2 Year" prosecution exemption should also be introduced
Young Fine Gael (YFG) has today announced its support for lowering the age of legal consent to 16 years of age, following discussions on this issue by the cabinet. YFG is also calling for an exemption on prosecutions, where the ages of both consenting individuals are less than 2 years apart. YFG President Dale McDermott said:
"Our laws need to recognise that sexual relations occur among people at a younger age and protect those who participate consensually. In order to avoid inappropriate prosecutions, Young Fine Gael supports absolving criminal liability where the age difference between both individuals is less than two years
"A lower age of consent will bring our laws into line with other EU countries and provide the legal recognition that people are having sex at a younger age. We recognise the importance of protecting childhood, but discretion from prosecution is already exercised by authorities in such cases to ensure the best welfare of the child is the outcome. A two year exemption would recognise the existence of these cases and ensure we focus on family support services and better sex education as a remedy to support young people."
