Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is fair enough and I take the point the Minister is making regarding being 17 versus 18 years of age. Regarding the five years, surely this should be based on the risk assessment carried out and available to the Judiciary at the point of sentencing. Why are we tying the hands of the courts? The Minister will very cogently argue against mandatory sentencing on the basis we are tying the hands of the Judiciary. In this case, we are saying it is based on the age of the individual, despite the fact this could be a very serious offence. The risk of reoffending could be extremely high. We are minimising the period for which a person can be on the register after release.