Having failed to anticipate and to respond in a timely and considered fashion to a Supreme Court decision to strike down a section of the 1935 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act dealing with statutory rape two weeks ago, the Government is now offering a range of remedial measures to guard against a recurrence.
Some of these proposals make sound administrative and political sense and should be acknowledged as a constructive response by the Opposition parties. But it is a bit rich for the Taoiseach to suggest everything is now under control and the Oireachtas should move on, when nobody has been held to account for a crisis that shook public confidence in the Government and the courts.
An inquiry, involving an official from the Department of Finance, is about to get under way within the Office of the Attorney General, Rory Brady. This exercise will involve an examination of whether procedures within that office - put in place in the aftermath of the Duggan case which brought down a government - are adequate. The official is also empowered to recommed changes which may give rise to new arrangements. In effectively pre-empting any findings while reinforcing his own position, Mr Brady has announced a series of administrative changes that will require him to sign off on the State's defence in future constitutional challenges, notify relevant departments and report to Government at regular intervals.
Legal and constitutional experts have supported claims by the Opposition parties that the emergency legislation passed last week is flawed in a number of respects. This is deeply worrying. In particular, the act discriminates against young boys who engage in consensual sex and it criminalises such actions. And while the Taoiseach explained in some detail why an approach favouring girls had been adopted by the Government, he was less than convincing when he sought to defend the initiative on constitutional grounds.
This is an issue that will have to be confronted by the all-party committee proposed by the Taoiseach. And difficult questions involving the age of sexual consent and criminal activity should also be carefully examined. In the somewhat hysterical climate that prevailed last week, such an approach would not have been politically feasible. But, in the coming months, it should be possible to address these and other matters in a non-partisan way that reflects the reality of modern life, while providing necessary protection for vulnerable young people.
The Government was seen to be out of touch with public opinion and dangerously unprepared to deal with an emergency last week. And while a range of fire-fighting responses, including the appointment of a special rapporteur for child protection, have now been brought forward by the Taoiseach, there is no convincing evidence that fundamental change involving the attitudes and effectiveness of Ministers and their departments will emerge from this fiasco.