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

I move amendment No. 36:

In page 30, after line 28, to insert the following: “29.The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on how registered sex offenders are able to change their name or other aspects of their identity without the knowledge of the Garda Síochána with the intention of subverting the purpose of this Act.”.

We discussed this in advance of Second Stage, and during the Second Stage debate I flagged this particular problem. An anomaly was brought to my attention by a colleague in the UK who has been highlighting an issue with regard to deed polls, which are being used to change individual's names to try to circumvent the sex offender's register there. As sure as night follows day, if a loophole is being exploited in the UK, that same loophole will be exploited here, either by individuals convicted here or, because of the common travel area, individuals convicted in the UK who subsequently reside here.

Sex offenders change their names to make it more difficult for members of the public or for the Garda to track and monitor them. I highlighted on Second Stage an example of a sex offender, Mr. Terry Price, who conducted a string of sexual offences over three decades and changed his name five times, including on one occasion when he was in prison. One of his victims waived her right to anonymity to highlight the issue and Mr. Price went on to change his name again. Sex offenders should not be allowed to change their names and definitely should not be able to do so while in prison. That right should be revoked in the case of convicted sex offenders. However, at a very minimum, as I have set out in this legislation, there is a responsibility on the authorities to inform the Garda of the change of name. As the law currently stands, it is the responsibility of the sex offenders to inform the Garda that they have changed their names. I believe this will be used to circumvent the monitoring legislation we have before us. It will lead to the abuse of victims in the future and I believe this particular loophole needs to be closed off.