Aontú leader says: “The issue of consent in relation to sexual relationships is really important.
“But for a Government to conflate this to a grandparent hugging their grandchild is absolutely wrong. Hugs are not a criminal justice issue.
“It tells grandparents to second guess themselves when they show affection to their grandchildren. It sows a seed within the mind of a child that a grandparents’ hug is in some way dangerous or sinister. It’s horrible. We know older people are suffering from loneliness and isolation and suddenly the message is that showing natural affection to beloved grandkids is a bad thing.
“When I saw this first, I thought it was AI slop. Why is the state getting into this space? Why is this state funded? Who thought we needed a national campaign to address this? Who conceived of the ad itself and how did nobody raise concerns about it? It’s so bad, it has made news headlines across the world.
“How much taxpayers money has been spent on this? I believe the state owes grandparents an apology for this disgraceful ad.”
