Good news from Ireland. If you want to, feel free to use this in your local LGB newspaper/magazine. Cathal (PS I'm at this address only on an intermittent basis, so it may be a few days before I reply to any queries this generates.) --------------------------------------------- | Cathal Kelly | Ollscoil Luimnigh (Uni. Limerick), For the benefit of | National Technological Park, the non-Irish the | IRL Limerick 't' in 'Cathal' is | | silent and the name | (Ireland) is attached to the | male of the species. | kellyc@ul.ie | -------------------------------------- ------------------- cut here -------------------- Irish Government Will Decriminalise Homosexuality Equal age of consent to be set by Cathal Kelly LIMERICK - IRELAND The Irish Government decided at its meeting on Tuesday, May 18th, to repeal the laws which criminalise homosexual relations between men. In a statement issued in Dublin on Tuesday afternoon, the Minister for Justice, Mrs Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, said that the Government had opted for 17 years as the age of consent for homosexual acts -- the same age as for heterosexual acts. Mrs Geoghegan-Quinn had earlier circulated a memorandum to the other members of the Government outlining three options for an age of consent, and two options for the nature of the reform of the law. The alternatives on the question of the age of consent were 17, 18 and 21 years. On the question of the nature of the reform, the Minister's memorandum identified a `British model' as one approach, and complete re-writing of the law as the other. Under the British model, `buggery' and `gross indecency' would remain crimes except in extremely narrow circumstances, and it would still be a crime for a man to `solicit' another man for sex. The Government's Bill, which has yet to be published, will abolish two crimes which made sex between men illegal. These are the ancient common-law `abominable crime of buggery', for which a sentence of life imprisonment was set in 1865, and the crime of `gross indecency' between males, which was created in the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act. The repeal of the laws will give effect to a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights made in October 1988 in a case taken by Senator David Norris against Ireland. The Government plans to have the new law enacted before the Dail takes its summer recess. The Government's proposals broadly follow the recommendations made by the Law Reform Commission in 1990, when it said that no case had been made for setting a different age of consent for homosexual activity than for heterosexual activity. The Law Reform Commission is a statutory body, and was headed at the time of the report by High Court Judge, Mr Justice Ronan Keane. Mr Christopher Robson, Co-chairperson of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, said that he was `greatly encouraged' that the Government has taken on board the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission, and that the decision is in line with Government's own commitment to equality. When it was formed in January, the Fianna Fail--Labour coalition Government established a new Department of Equality and Law Reform. All of the Opposition parties in the Dail have expressed support for the proposal. Although a small number of backbench members of the Government parties are known to oppose the proposal, they are not regarded as a threat as the Government majority in the Dail is the largest in the history of the State. The strong cross-party consensus in favour of the proposal has led to expectation that the Bill may be passed without a vote. The Government's decision has also been welcomed by the Church of Ireland. As of Sunday, May 23rd, there had been no public official reaction from the Roman Catholic church in Ireland. The most vocal opposition has come from a largely Roman Catholic organisation, Family Solidarity. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Family Solidarity's National Secretary, Dr Joseph McCarroll, said that the Government should seek a derogation from the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that the present law is needed to `protect public health and the morals and rights and freedoms of others'. Dr McCarroll's opposition to reform was re-iterated in a popular live show which was broadcast on national radio on Saturday, 22nd May. Dr McCarroll described homosexuality as an `emotional wound'. His views were rejected by Mrs Geoghegan- Quinn, who also participated in the show. In the course of the discussion Mrs Geoghegan-Quinn challenged Dr McCarroll to say how he would react if his teenage son came out to him as gay. In a strong defence of her decision to set an equal age of consent, Mrs Geoghegan-Quinn said her views had been formed following meetings with the many mothers of gay men who told her of their experiences in dealing with the disclosure of their childs' homosexuality. In a related development, the Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Noel Bergin, told the _Irish Independent_ on Tuesday that a report on the introduction of a code of conduct governing interpersonal relationships is being prepared. The decision to prepare a report follows a recent announcement by the Minister for Defence, Mr David Andrews, that military regulations would be modified to take account of any reform in the civil law on homosexuality. Mr Andrews is seen as a member of the liberal wing of the Fianna Fail party. Lt Gen Bergin pointed out that the Army does not ask potential recruits about their sexual orientation, and that they had few problems in the past in this area. A Government Bill to extend the provisions of the Unfair Dismissals Act was introduced in the Seanad in April. Under the terms of the Bill, it will be illegal to dismiss a person from their job because of their sexual orientation. The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network hopes to see a similar provision extended to those not in work and seeking employment in a Bill to be introduced this Autumn [`Fall' in the USA!] to broaden the terms of the Employment Equality Act.