Irish PM Reaffirms Support for U.K.-Style Pornography Ban

Prime Minister Micheál Martin told the Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish Parliament, that the government needed to address what he described as the “violent nature of this pornographic material.” Martin was responding to questions from members of the Dáil, known as deputies, about government efforts to regulate pornography depicting BDSM, kink and consensual choking.

In May, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan announced that his department was preparing legislation modeled on provisions adopted in the United Kingdom.

The proposed measures would target material classified by O’Callaghan and the government as “extreme or violent” pornography, making the possession, production and distribution of such content criminal offenses. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí opened the latest parliamentary debate by arguing that there was an “urgent need for legislation to address the role that exposure to extreme pornographic material is playing in normalising sexual violence and harmful sexual behaviour among young people.

“There is growing recognition across the world that violence and extreme pornography is both highly accessible and increasingly influential,” Ó Muiri added. “It is shaping attitudes about sex, relationships and consent, particularly among young people.”

Martin responded, “In short, the government is responding in an affirmative way to the points he has raised.”

Martin continued, “First of all, we have a zero-tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It is a scourge on our society. The level of violence against women is very serious. We want to ensure that all victims and survivors can access the support, protection and justice they require.”

He said Justice Minister O’Callaghan had “secured government approval to commence [the] drafting … [of the bill] for the inclusion in the general scheme of the criminal law (sexual offences, domestic violence, and international instruments) bill.” The proposed restrictions on pornography classified as violent or extreme are therefore expected to come before lawmakers for consideration in the coming months.

“This bill will create offences relating to the possession, production and distribution of violent or extreme pornography, addressing a significant gap in Irish law,” Martin said. “It is contributing to misogynistic attitudes but also to violence.”

In the United Kingdom, the Crime and Policing Act, passed by Parliament this year, established criminal penalties, including potential prison sentences, for producing, watching or possessing certain types of pornography involving consenting adults engaged in age-play or consensual choking. The provisions took effect on Nov. 6, extending the reach of the UK’s restrictions and drawing attention from adult entertainment industry stakeholders in the United States and other countries.