The Irish Advert was Real, Quickly Withdrawn, and Officially Disowned as Inappropriate

A short video from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre's government-funded "We-Consent" campaign (via Cuan, the agency for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence) showed grandparents arriving at a house. One grandchild hugged them enthusiastically; a girl standing nearby looked uncomfortable as they approached. The narration stated: "Not everyone wants a hug. Even from the people who love them. Awkward? Maybe. Important? Absolutely."

After widespread criticism, Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan ordered its removal (along with two other videos). He called it "both inappropriate and demeaning to grandparents," said it "does not represent the views of the Government," stressed that loving grandparents are "an incredibly positive thing to be cherished and not something to be campaigned against," and added that while teaching consent for sexual relationships is vital, this video was "counterproductive." The DRCC said the idea came from workshops about experiences that made people uncomfortable; the clips were taken down after the backlash.

My critique follows the same principle the ad applied: treat ordinary affectionate physical contact within the family as something that requires explicit, ongoing verbal consent, even from close relatives.

Applied to mothers and infants, the result is absurd on its face:

Infants and very young children cannot give meaningful, informed consent. They lack the language, cognitive capacity, and understanding of the request. Parental care (including holding, kissing, bathing, changing, comforting) necessarily involves physical contact that the child does not "consent" to in any adult sense.

Mothers (and fathers) have legal and practical authority and responsibility for their children's welfare. Routine affection is part of normal attachment, not a negotiation between equals.

The context is radically different from adult sexual interactions or unwanted contact from non-primary caregivers. The ad itself was framed around broader "consent" education by a rape-crisis organisation, which is why many critics (including the minister) saw it as misapplied and pathologising ordinary family life.

The reasonable core that sometimes gets lost in these campaigns is that older children can and should be allowed to decline unwanted hugs or kisses from relatives or others, and that adults should notice and respect clear discomfort. That is ordinary social awareness, not a new regime requiring formal permission for every affectionate gesture. Extending the "ask every time" rule down to babies or treating grandparents' normal greetings as presumptively suspect is where the framing collapses into the parody you describe.

The episode was short-lived precisely because the government and many observers judged the execution to have overreached. The minister's statement effectively rejected the premise that family affection of this kind needs to be regulated like sexual consent.

https://dailysceptic.org/2026/10/23/grandparents-should-ask-for-consent-to-hug-their-grandchildren-irish-advert-says/