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AN IRISH CHARITY is calling for the repeal of a law which bans people with intellectual disabilities from having sexual relationships.
A new Bill dealing with the subject, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015, is set for second stage discussion in Dáil Éireann tomorrow.
Section 20 of the new bill, if passed, will repeal a ban which prevents a person from engaging in a sexual relationship with someone with an intellectual disability.
That rule has been enshrined in Irish law since 1993. It specifically criminalises such relationships, with the ban “based on the existence of a disability and no other criteria”, according to disability charity Rehab which is calling for the Bill to be approved without “unnecessary delay”.
The charity has described the existence of the law as an example of “glaring inequality”.
“The existing law in Ireland creates a situation where people with intellectual disabilities are often neither supported nor encouraged to look for a romantic life partner, which is a normal part of life for everyone else,” the charity said in a statement ahead of the Dáil debate.
The current Criminal Justice bill designates someone with intellectual disabilities as a ‘protected person’, as an acknowledgement of the difference of ability such a person has in making decisions about their lives.
“Greater equality”
Rehab says that significant strides have been made since the passing of the 1993 bill to “establish people with disabilities as citizens with equal rights”, and that it is “now time for similar equality to be given to people in relation to sexual relationships”.
“The proposed new laws will create greater equality for people with disabilities in their sexual and romantic lives,” says Kathleen O’Meara of Rehab.
Often the existing legislation has prevented people engaging in any type of romantic relationship.
This legislation is now urgent. It will provide greater opportunities to people with intellectual disabilities to assert their human right to marry and to found a family.
The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 will be discussed in Dáil Éireann from 6.30pm tomorrow evening.
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Can we please stop propagating the lies of the English media? Brexit did the damage, not the protocol.
You can’t hold a poll asking people if they think the Protocol is good for Northern Ireland without clarifying what the alternative is.
That’s like asking a child if they think the settlement that their parents agreed to after divorce is good.
Let’s be clear… article 16 does not end the protocol. It can suspend a part of it for a short period of time. When the UK says it will trigger A16, call it out for what they want to do….they want to scrap it and force a border on the island of Ireland or a border between Ireland and EU. That’s their plan and I believe it’s been the plan all along. This mess has been made by the UK and the protocol is a plaster. The GB companies that send those goods that will never end up back in the EU (including ROI) need to be better catered for. The issue is that there is no trust between the UK and EU as, so far, the UK hasn’t implemented main parts of the protocol so all at risk goods must be considered guilty until proven innocent.
Ok theJournal…. Time to correct your headlines… “Is Brexit bad or good for firms in Northern Ireland?”
The protocol is a workaround to the main issue, Brexit..
While I’ve no doubt it has caused some legitimate disruption for businesses heavily linked to GB, how did the study take into account costs (for consultancy etc) that would’ve been incurred without the procotol because they also trade with the EU?
Or how did it take into account all the paperwork NI businesses save because they can trade with the Republic and the rest of the EU freely?
All these analyses seem to assume that trade with Ireland was either insignificant, or its continuity was a a given (neither of these are true) and that any disruption with GB is a cost without any quantifiable benefit (again not true).
It’s not the protocol that’s not working. It’s brexit that’s not working.
How dare the EU break away from the United Kingdom. They’ve made things very difficult for everyone, especially the Brits!
By leaving the CU and SM and going for a Sharia Brexit GB turned itself into a legal and regulatory Kaliningrad. Their call-their choice…If they hadn’t CHOSEN that there would be no protocol. They want a hard border in IRL or IRL out the the EU-they will get neither but what they will get is humiliation.
have your say