Irish government funded PSA sparks divide as calls for grandparents to ask consent before hugging children goes live

A 25-second public service announcement from Ireland has drawn sharp criticism from a local councillor and sparked a heated debate online.

The video, released by We-Consent, encourages grandparents to ask permission before hugging their grandchildren. The group is a project of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre and is supported by government agencies.

Its message is blunt: “Not everyone wants a hug. Even from the people who love them.” The clip then adds: “Awkward? Maybe. Important? Absolutely.”

In the footage, one grandchild happily hugs their grandparents, while another appears uncomfortable as her grandparents lean in for an embrace.

Irish Councillor Gavin Pepper accused both the ‘Government and NGOs’ of ‘losing the run of ourselves’ in a Facebook post alongside the video.

“Of course children should be taught about boundaries and nobody should ever be forced into physical contact they don’t want,” he wrote. “But we also need a bit of common sense.”

He called the relationship between grandparents and grandkids ‘one of the most important bonds in Irish family life’, adding that a hug from a loving grandparent ‘should not be presented as something strange or suspicious’.

Pepper also criticized the government for ‘talking constantly about changing traditions’ and argued that ‘there comes a point where people are entitled to say: leave some things alone’. “Irish culture, family and traditions matter,” he said. He maintained that teaching children boundaries and respect is important, but urged people to ‘bring some common sense back into the conversation as well’.

Who is behind the We-Consent campaign?

The clip is one part of a bigger effort. We-Consent is supported by Ireland’s Department of Justice and Department of Children, Disability and Equality, and describes itself as a long-term national program aiming to inform, educate and engage with all members of society about consent.

Despite the attention, the ad does not appear on any of the group’s social media platforms. It is unclear when, or if, We-Consent removed the video from its pages.

What are people saying about the grandparent hug ad?

The video has since gone viral on social media, and reactions have been mixed. Some simply asked ‘how is this real?’

Comments on X also leaned both ways. One user wrote: “The most important thing is hugs from my loved ones,” while another said the ad sounded like ‘the most un-Irish thing’. A third said the video had the opposite effect on them: “This ad makes me want to hug my grandparents and my parents more.”

Another commenter wrote: “In the 80s we had adverts warning us not to machine gun down children, not to partake in terrorism. Today we have adverts warning us not to hug our children. How times change.”

Not everyone was critical. Irish Councillor Lorraine Hall defended the campaign on X, saying she was ‘embarrassed’ for those who took it literally rather than as a ‘figurative message’.

“Embarrassed for all the people that think that this is a literal rather than a figurative message…and have forgotten that advertising creativity is a thing,” she wrote.

“Oh yes…and also to state the obvious – advertising does work,” she added.