University College Dublin (UCD) has apologised to its Computer Science students after they received an email seeking help in developing a ‘consent’ app.

The email, purportedly sent by a UCD Medicine student, sought help developing “a mobile application that allows for others to quickly verify their consent prior to sexual activities”.

“With your help we can fights [sic] the ever growing fear for men to be sued post intercourse due to consent not being recorded/denied/retracted the life destroying legal ramifications that follow - as well as allowing for a clear opportunity if the other, for instance female, does not wish to continue in the act - and leaves out the lack of communication which is responsible for the destruction of thousands of lives each year,” the email read.

This morning Prof. Pádraig Cunningham, Head of UCD's School of Computer Science contacted students to say the email “was not reviewed and approved by the UCD School of Computer Science before it was forwarded to our students.”

“The School emailing lists should not have been used to circulate this email. It was issued in error. Please disregard the email.”

“On behalf of the School, I would like to sincerely apologise to the students who have received this email and for the offense it has caused.

“The School of Computer Science will review and improve its approval process for all proposed emails to be sent to students on our lists to ensure that this can not happen again,” Prof Cunningham said.