Advert from Dublin Rape Crisis Centre on grandparents hugging and kissing children withdrawn

An Irish advert promoting consent has been withdrawn after complaints about its depictions of grandparents hugging and kissing their grandkids.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre's (DRCC) video showed grandparents arriving at a family home, where they are embraced by their grandson, while another girl looks uncomfortable when an older woman attempts to give her a kiss.

The video then cuts to text on screen reading: "Not everyone wants a hug. Even from the people who love them."

It continues: "Awkward? Maybe. Important? Absolutely. We-Consent.ie is here to help."

The campaign also included two other videos, and was funded through Cuan, Ireland's statutory agency for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence set up by Fine Gael TD Helen McEntee when she was the justice minister.

Irish justice minister Jim O'Callaghan said his department, which funded the video, told DRCC to take the "inappropriate and demeaning" ad down.

"The video produced by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre involving grandparents does not represent the views of the Government," he said in a statement.

"It was both inappropriate and demeaning to grandparents and has been removed by DRCC following my official's engagement with them. It goes without saying that having loving grandparents in a child's life is an incredibly positive thing to be cherished and not something to be campaigned against.

"While it is vital to ensure that people understand the concept of consent when it comes to sexual relationships, this video did not advance that aim and in many ways was counterproductive."

The DRCC said it carried out workshops looking at experiences that made participants feel uncomfortable, and that "the scenarios depicted in the video series came up very frequently in all the workshops".

A spokesperson for DRCC added: "The videos were created with volunteers and staff and reflected these conversations.

"We do not want that negativity to impinge on and distract from the vital work that we as a centre do in supporting victims and survivors and improving awareness of these important issues across society."

Speaking on Thursday, Ms McEntee said: "I think it is absolutely essential that we have a very open and a very honest conversation on consent" - but added that "I think that should be our focus when we're talking about consent campaigns".

"I'm not sure the direction that it has taken, encouraging grandparents to ask permission to hug their children, is really where I see it being a priority or a focus that is needed," she said.

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Issues were raised officially at Leaders' Questions in the Dail on Thursday, where Aontu TD Paul Lawless accused the Government of having "utter contempt" for older people.

"This is totally wrong," he said. "Firstly, in how it demonises elderly grandparents around the country, but also in terms of the shocking waste of taxpayers' money."

Ireland's health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill agreed with Mr Lawless that the video was inappropriate, but said "no person in government" had viewed or sanctioned the ad.

(c) Sky News 2026: Advert from Dublin Rape Crisis Centre on grandparents hugging and kissing children withdrawn