Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act 1996 provides for the prosecution in the State of Irish citizens or persons ordinarily resident in the State for an act against or involving children abroad. Under section 2 of the Act, the act must be a sexual offence under the law of the place it was done and, had it been done within this State, would have constituted an offence listed in the Schedule to the Act.

The recently enacted Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 also contains jurisdictional provisions which ensure that Irish citizens and persons ordinarily resident in the State who commit trafficking offences abroad can be prosecuted in the State in respect of those offences.

I am at present preparing a Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill which will include several new offences aimed at offering further protection to children and other vulnerable persons against sexual exploitation and abuse. It is my intention to include in that Bill jurisdictional provisions similar to those in the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act.

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