<p>
	The ISPCC has insisted that the age of consent should stay at 17 and not be lowered.</p>
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	The charity&#39;s comments come as the Justice Minister considers rowing back on the proposed changes put forward by her predecessor, Alan Shatter.</p>
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	Frances Fitzgerald believes lowering the age of consent to 16 could increase the trafficking of teenage prostitutes.</p>
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	ISPCC director of services Caroline O&#39; Sullivan said that young people need to be emotionally mature enough before engaging in sexual activity.</p>
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	&quot;The age of consent, as it currently stands at 17, is a good age, because the reality is very often children and young people are getting involved in sexual activity too young, and by reducing it, that encourages that,&quot;</p>
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	&quot;And the reality is that, young people, when they&#39;re involved in any form of sexual activity, they need to be emotionally as well as physically mature enough to be able to cope with that particular experience.&quot;</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/ispcc-backs-opposition-to-shatters-age-of-consent-proposal-643448.html">http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/ispcc-backs-opposition-to-shatters-age-of-consent-proposal-643448.html</a></p>
