Written answers

Tuesday, 11 February 2014

Department of Justice and Equality

Sexual Offences

Photo of Seán KennySeán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)
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443. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on the compensation of victims in lieu of prison sentencing for sexual offences; his views on when it is appropriate to remove a person from the sexual offenders register when compensation is paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6467/14]

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Criminal Justice Act 1993 gives the courts a statutory power to order a person convicted of an offence to pay compensation to a person who has suffered personal injury or loss resulting from the offence. Section 6 of the 1993 Act provides that a court may (on application or otherwise) make a compensation order against a person convicted of an offence instead of or in addition to dealing with the offender in any other way, unless it sees reason to the contrary.

From time to time, issues can arise with sentences imposed in cases where financial compensation offered to the victim by the offender is regarded as a mitigating factor by the court when sentencing the offender. This, I believe, is particularly inappropriate in cases involving serious offences, where the requirement to impose an appropriate penalty for the crime should not be confused with the court’s power to separately award compensation to the victim for personal injury or loss.

Last week, the Government approved the drafting of the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill and the publication of the General Scheme of the Bill. The proposed legislation will replace the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 with modern provisions dealing with community sanctions and the role of the Probation Service in the criminal justice system.

It is my intention to break the link between the payment of compensation and the sentencing of offenders in criminal proceedings. For that reason, it is proposed that the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill will amend section 6 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 to disconnect the payment of compensation from the sentencing of the offender. The amendment will provide that a compensation order can only be made in addition to any other sanction, and not instead of a sanction.

The making of a compensation order under the Criminal Justice Act 1993 is not a determining factor for the purposes of inclusion of an offender in the "sex offenders' register".

Section 7 of the Sex Offenders Act 2001 provides that a person convicted of a scheduled sexual offence is subject to the notification requirements ("sex offenders' register") in the Act. Therefore, a conviction (as opposed to a term of imprisonment) is the prerequisite for inclusion on the register.

The period for which a convicted sex offender is subject to the notification requirements in the 2001 Act depends on the length and type of sentence imposed by the court. In the case of adults, the minimum period for which an offender is subject to the notification requirements is 5 years. This is the mandatory notification period where a sex offender receives a sentence, the whole of which is suspended, or where the sentence is otherwise than one of imprisonment. If a term of imprisonment is imposed, the period for which a sex offender is subject to the notification requirements increases to at least 7 years.

The statutory notification periods are halved where the offender is under the age of 18 years at the time of sentencing.

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