Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No, there is no timeline for being on the register but people have a constitutional right to work and to make a living, and outright restrictions impede on that constitutional right, so if there is a ten-year sentence, the outright ban constitutes a further penalty and we cannot go beyond the maximum sentence. If it is ten years and the person serves eight, we cannot apply it for another five because that goes beyond the maximum penalty. As I said, any type of abuse or assault is a serious case, but where life is given as the sentence, this would apply for life. I can only assume that in all circumstances where somebody applies for a job and gives the information that they are a sex offender, they are unlikely to get a job where they are working with children or in contact with vulnerable people. Obviously, that is up to the employer but I would assume that is the case. There is also a Garda vetting process so if somebody is a danger or a risk, that would clearly be made known to the employer as well.

There is a legal element to this. The advice we have been given is that we cannot go above the maximum penalty. An outright ban is a penalty. It impedes on people's constitutional rights so that is a much bigger question around the constitutional right to earn a living. If somebody has served their sentence, the same as with any other type of offence, they have a legal right to get on with their life, to try to earn a living and to make their way. While we are talking about sexual offences, which are particularly heinous crimes, and it is very difficult to comprehend how someone has the same rights and mobility as with a different type of offence, the law is clear in that regard. In the vast majority of these cases, a life sentence is often the sentence that is handed down and that would mean the outright ban.

I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from, I really do, but it is very clear in terms of the law and the Constitution what we can actually do here. However, through the Garda vetting process and through the explicit need to inform the employer, we have tried to put other mechanisms in place.