The Irish Times - Monday, October 24, 2011
CAROL COULTER, Legal Affairs Editor
THE LAW on sexual offences relating to people with intellectual disabilities should be overhauled, so that those who are capable of consenting to sexual activity are not deprived of the opportunity for intimate relationships, according to the Law Reform Commission.
The commission will publish a consultation paper on the subject this evening, in which it makes a provisional recommendation for the repeal of the existing law on sexual offences involving people with an intellectual disability.
Section 5 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 makes it an offence to have sexual intercourse with a person with an intellectual disability. The commission points out that it fails to protect people with intellectual disability from unwanted sexual contact generally, as it is limited to sexual intercourse, and it fails to allow for consensual sexual activity between two persons with intellectual disability.....
