Jim O'Callaghan

Mr O’Callghan issued a statement on Thursday stating that the video “does not represent the views of the government”.

It adds: “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 video featured grandparents arriving at a front door and hugging a young boy while his teenager sister stood behind him less enthused about the upcoming greeting. The video ended with the tagline “not everyone wants a hug”.

In a statement the DRCC said that this, and the two other videos in the series, were made following 20 consent workshops that had been held with older and younger people and that the scenarios in the series reflected those that came up “very frequently” in the workshops.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) issued a lengthy statement stating that it was “unsettling” that the justice minister would interfere “with the work of a non-profit organisation, partly funded by the Department of Justice … pressuring it to pull and delete a video that seeks to educate people about consent”.