Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The Bill we are preparing will probably be introduced next year. As I noted earlier, among the matters under consideration is bringing our notification system into line with that of the Northern authorities. As Minister for Foreign Affairs, I raised this issue with my counterpart, Mr. Peter Hain, because I felt that we could marry our operations on both sides of the Border. That process is ongoing because there is much we can learn from each other. There have been several cases involving people crossing the Border. We are also considering a reduction in the period for notification by convicted sex offenders of their addresses and the issue of sex grooming on the Internet.

At present, approximately 325 people are in prison for sex offences, with a further 1,100 on the register and 120 on post-release orders. Our existing legislation is robust but we are not complacent and will review it. Other issues must also be considered in the context of the legislation, not least among them the deliberations of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children.

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