The Irish minister for justice has criticised an advertisement produced by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) promoting consent, calling it “inappropriate and demeaning to grandparents”.

The ad depicts two grandparents enthusiastically hugging a young boy, but when they approach their granddaughter she appears unhappy about the exchange.

It includes the message “not everyone wants a hug. Even from the people who love them”.

The ad, which has since been removed, has attracted criticism and and also received international coverage in publications such as the New York Post.

Fianna Fáil politician Jim O’Callaghan, whose department funds the campaign, said the the video has since been removed following engagement with the DRCC.

He said the video “does not represent the views of the Government”.

“It was both inappropriate and demeaning to grandparents and has been removed by DRCC following my officials engagement with them.

“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 was part of a campaign titled ‘We-Consent’, which is led by the DRCC.

In a statement to Irish broadcaster RTÉ, the DRCC said: “We-Consent is a long-term campaign as part of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre’s prevention work to increase the awareness and practice of consent in Ireland.

“We created three videos premised on the idea that boundaries should be respected from an early age and to respect others’ boundaries too.

“We are going to remove the videos from our social media channels while we reflect on whether they are having the positive effect we want them to have.”

As well as the Department of Justice, the ‘We-Consent’ campaign is also supported by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and CUAN (the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency).

All three have been approached for comment.