Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response. It is fitting that we are having this discussion on the day the wording of the referendum on children's rights was published. The electronic tagging of sex offenders after their release would protect all members of our community as well as children. I previously raised this matter in September of last year and I was assured by the Minister that progress was under way. I am anxious to see that sex offenders are electronically tagged after their release. It would act as a deterrent to re-offending but I also acknowledge that the measure is not a complete solution to the problem. While electronic tagging gives information about the location of an individual, it does not provide information on activities in which the person is engaging. I welcome the commitment in the programme for Government to tackling this area but I would like to see it happening as quickly as possible. My understanding of research is that there is, effectively, no sex offenders register in Ireland. Although offenders are monitored, subject to notification requirements, by the sex offenders management and intelligence unit at the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, there is no proper national database for the Garda Síochána and the courts to access. We must examine this point.

We must also consider the seven day clause. At present, any person on the move has seven days to register. In the UK, the figure is three days and we should consider reducing it from seven days. In that period, a person could have travelled around the world and be back without the Garda Síochána being aware.

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