Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Child Sex Offenders (Information and Monitoring) Bill and I strongly and warmly commend Deputy Naughten on its introduction.

I welcome this debate because child sex abuse is always a very important issue. The question of how we deal with such abuse is more important. I accept this Bill is controversial and I will set out my views on this important matter later.

As we are all aware, the horrific issues associated with child sexual abuse and child sex offenders have arisen again recently. We have seen the terrible consequences of inaction. That is why we need to have an informed debate and to implement common sense policies. I have heard some positive and constructive suggestions from Deputy Naughten and all the other Deputies who have contributed to this debate so far. We need action on this issue. The victims of child sexual abuse must always be at the centre of the debate. Their voices must be heard, regardless of the consequences. We need to get our facts right in relation to this issue. According to a recent report, some 37% of those who perpetrate sexual violence against child survivors were under the age of 18, some 75% of child survivors - both boys and girls - aged between 13 and 17 were subjected to rape and some 60% of female child survivors were subjected to rape, compared to 30% of male child survivors.

I compliment the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland on its magnificent work on this issue and its determination and courage in trying to assist these families, victims and survivors. The network deals with real people, real children and real survivors. It also deals with the issue of stereotyping, which is still a feature of the Ireland of 2013. Sadly, most sexual abuse takes place within the family. The reality is that two thirds of cases of sexual abuse involve a close family relative or someone in the local community. It is important to state that the stereotype of strangers preying on children is not accurate in most cases. I am bringing this aspect of the matter onto the agenda because we need to deal with family issues as well as the issue that Deputy Naughten's legislation aims to deal with. It is important to deal with stereotyping. I reiterate that two thirds of cases directly involve a close family relative. That is accepted by those who work for professional organisations that provide services to children.

I was fascinated by the reaction to last Sunday's episode of "Love/Hate". I understand that RTE received ten telephone calls about a scene in which someone killed a cat with a machine gun. I watched the programme and was fascinated to see how some communities are being stereotyped. Why did RTE not receive 10,000 phone calls about the programme's depiction of sexual exploitation and violence, or about the horrific consequences of children living in drug dealers' families where violence and aggression are common? That is my point. We seem to get distracted at times. I know that it might not be politically correct to say this about a programme that has 970,000 viewers, but I have major problems about some aspects of the kind of stereotyping that goes on. I worked in disadvantaged communities for many years. The vast majority of families in those areas send their kids to school every day, against the odds, with their homework done and their uniforms on. I do not like the sensational manner in which such communities are labelled in some television programmes. It is important to say that the programme also depicts prostitution and the gross exploitation of women. It is important to deal with the whole question of sexual exploitation, including sexual abuse by close family members and the depiction of these issues by the media. Stereotyping must be dealt with in a very strong way.

As I mentioned earlier, the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland has done a fantastic job. As part of our strategy for dealing with Deputy Naughten's Bill, we need to ensure such organisations are supported. Over the last two or three years, they have had to try to survive in spite of a 50% cut in the funding of their services. We have to look at these issues. The statistics show that approximately 100,000 people in the broader Irish community have been affected by child sexual abuse. There should be a reaction. They are crying out for help. Most Deputies have met some of these people in our clinics. We have encountered them on a human and personal level. They are happy to come and talk to Deputies because they know we will listen to them. At a time when the world seems to be anti-politician - this is part of another agenda - I suggest that the role of the politician in Irish society is very relevant. Thankfully, the people of Ireland made the right decision last weekend when they voted to save the Seanad, but that is another debate for another day. I will always defend politicians, especially in the case of this serious matter because politicians generally have a good record of assisting families and putting people into contact with the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland. The 100,000 people I have mentioned have to be supported. The Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, needs to be involved in a broader strategy in this regard.

The legislation before the House would ensure parents receive appropriate information about a paedophile who is living in the community. It would allow gardaí to disclose information on sex offenders to the parents of children and vulnerable adults if they believe there is a risk. I think that is an important aspect of the legislation. I commend Deputy Naughten on it. The Bill also proposes the establishment of a system that will enable parents to inquire as to whether people coming into contact with their child, or a vulnerable adult for whom they are responsible, have been convicted of a sexual offence or otherwise pose a serious danger. It provides a similar entitlement to people in authority in schools and clubs. That is a positive measure because it represents common sense. I heard Deputy Naughten's comments on the differences between this proposal and Sarah's law, which operates in the UK. Sarah's law allows a member of the public to ask the police for a disclosure regarding anyone who has unsupervised access to children.

As I said in my introductory remarks, it is important for children to be at the centre of this legislation. I strongly believe that the safeguarding of children's rights must take priority over the rights of other people. I heard some of my colleagues saying that we need to be careful about how this information is used. We do not want to see cases of vigilantism. The "hang 'em and flog 'em" brigade must be kept off the pitch. The sad thing is that this is already happening. I received a call yesterday from a constituent who is very worried about a convicted child sex abuser who is due to be released a few months from now. People in the local community are afraid the person's house will be stoned or burned out. They will be affected by it. We have to be very careful about this type of vigilantism. This kind of matter should be dealt with in line with the due process of the law. We have to ensure that the people involved, including the local gardaí, deal with it sensibly.

I would like to zoom in on some statistics that are specific to this issue. Deputy Naughten mentioned that this Bill will protect vulnerable adults, which is very important. I will deal with this aspect of the matter in a moment. We are happy to talk about many things in this country, but this issue often goes under the radar. My understanding of the term "vulnerable adults" is that it relates to people with an intellectual disability who are at risk. This issue is not being dealt with to a sufficient extent. I will go back to it in a moment. I wish to mention some more statistics that have been published by the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland in one of its reports. According to a newspaper report on the matter:

Some 192 children, aged between four and 17 years, attended 15 rape crisis centres and Cari (Children at Risk in Ireland) centres in 2012. Of these, 130 were attending for the first time. The majority (67 per cent) were aged 16 or 17, 26 per cent were 14 or 15, 4 per cent were 11 to 13 and 4 per cent were younger than 10 in 2012. About 5 per cent had a disability and the majority of these had an intellectual disability.

I want to focus on the final statistic I have cited. One of the reasons I am supporting this legislation is that it zooms in on the issue of vulnerable adults. Our modern society is teaching, training and educating adults with intellectual disabilities to be more independent and to integrate into the community. This means more freedom for them.

It means our children are getting on buses on their own and walking home on their own. They are more independent, which is positive and which the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform knows is also cheaper.

Education works on these issues. It also exposes children to being vulnerable. I would like to see broader society and the broader community acting as supervising parents or watchdogs of people with intellectual disabilities. People with intellectual disabilities use our services, go to our restaurants, go to pubs and are on our streets seven days a week. Everyone keeps an eye out for them because parents appreciate it and because of a number of recent incidents where people with intellectual disabilities were attacked and sexually assaulted.

That is why it is important that the legislation deals with persons who have been convicted of a sexual offence or otherwise and who pose a serious danger on coming into contact with children. In England, following Sarah's law there was a pilot project involving four police forces in Warwickshire, Cambridgeshire, Cleveland and Hampshire. A year-long project was hailed as a success by many people. Some politicians say it had protected 60 children. Deputy Denis Naughten and Sarah Payne's mother mentioned that if it only saved one child it would be great. This project had a direct impact of saving 60 children. I make that point because it is important. The year-long project was a success. Nearly 600 inquiries were made to the four police forces involved, leading to 315 applications for information and 21 disclosures about registered child sex offenders. A further 43 cases led to other actions, such as referrals to children in social care and 11 general disclosures were made regarding protection issues linked to violent offending. This measure had a strong impact in the pilot project.

There were some fears in the US that the scheme would drive sex offenders underground or cause vigilante style attacks. In the US, Megan's law allows for such disclosures, including the publication of names, addresses and pictures of paedophiles and it has experienced such problems. I mentioned an example recently. We must ensure the debate is a broad debate. We must accept that this is a problem in modern society. We must also deal with stereotyping and with families where this is going on.

Returning to the question of legislation, Garda intelligence has a meaningful role in protecting our children. At present, a large body of Garda intelligence and other important information concerning individuals sits passively on the Garda information system. The purpose of the Bill is to establish the information and child sex offenders scheme, which is important.

Overall, I welcome the legislation and commend my colleagues for their contributions. If the legislation goes further, there will be many amendments to assist it. This is a positive development and it is important that Deputy Denis Naughten brought this Bill to the House. It puts the rights of children at the top of the agenda. It also puts sexual exploitation at the top of the agenda and puts child abuse and child sex abuse on the agenda. We have had talk about this issue and there are now opportunities to act. The legislation is part of the strategy. I urge the Minister of State, Deputy Hayes, to go back to the Government and make the point about the different and positive contributions. The legislation has the potential to protect lives and provides an option to strengthen other legislation on the Statute Book. I commend Deputy Denis Naughten for introducing the Bill.

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