The Labour Party will publish a private member's Bill within days to ban female genital mutilation following concerns that it is being carried out in Ireland.
The party's spokesperson on health, Ms Liz McManus, said she hoped the Government would support the legislation outlawing the procedure, which is prevalent in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
The move follows concerns that girls and women in Ireland could be subjected to the practice, also known as female circumcision. There have been anecdotal reports of female genital mutilation among immigrants in Ennis, and the returned development workers' group, Comhlamh, recently called for it to be banned.
The Well Woman Centre this week revealed that an official from a Government Department contacted it looking for someone who could carry out female genital mutilation, on behalf of a constituent of a junior Minister.
Ms McManus said the barbaric practice was believed to lead to death in up to one in 10 cases, and was often carried out on young girls.
"There is a lacuna in the law and it has to be addressed," she said. "There's no question but that we should be protecting people living in our country from the threat of female genital mutilation."
With the increasingly diverse nature of the State's population, sensitivity must be shown towards cultural and religious practices which might seem strange to the majority community, she said. "We must draw the line at tolerating what essentially amounts to a form of torture and mutilation of young girls," she added.
Ms McManus was speaking yesterday at a Labour Party event on the eve of International Women's Day today to highlight the "raw deal" the Government is offering women.
Seven women Oireachtas members and general election candidates claimed an "audit" of Government policy after almost four years in office showed it had failed women in seven key policy areas. These were:
Its relegation of the Department of Equality and Law Reform, which has been merged with the Department of Justice.
Its abandoning of gender quotas on State bodies.
The lack of family friendly work policies which are keeping women in low pay.
Its "zero response" to crimes against women which continue to soar.
The undermining of women by failing to individualise social welfare payments.
Its failure to act on women's health matters in a number of areas including reproductive health and cardio-vascular disease.
Its failure to address the childcare crisis.
The party's spokeswoman on equality and law reform, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, said the Government should be ashamed of its record on women's issues after 45 months in office with unprecedented resources.