Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Crimes of a sexual nature are among the most heinous crimes that can occur and crimes against children are the worst crimes imaginable. I am aware of the arrests of 11 people on Monday by An Garda Síochána. These people have been released and files will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. These arrests come as part of an intelligence-led investigation by gardaí into alleged sexual exploitation of children who are resident in the Newcastle West Garda district. As the investigation is ongoing, I cannot say any more about its details other than to commend the work of gardaí and Tusla to ensure these arrests took place. The crimes alleged are shocking, abhorrent and truly disgusting.

The Government is fully committed to the protection of children. Divisional protective service units have been established in An Garda Síochána to tackle special crime types, in particular domestic and sexual abuse. The Government will ensure that gardaí are supported in the fight against all forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, which this Government brought in, contains significant provisions in Part 2 to deal with and prevent the sexual exploitation of children. These measures strengthen the law in the area of child pornography and create new offences to target child sexual grooming which focus on those who use modern technology to engage with children with the ultimate purpose of sexually exploiting them. The aim of the provisions is to remove any gap in the law which could be exploited by those who prey on children for the purpose of sexually exploiting or corrupting a child. The seriousness of these offences is reflected in the potential penalties which may be imposed of ten to 14 years. These offences came into effect on 27 March 2017.

The specific report mentioned by Deputy Micheál Martin was brought to Cabinet by the Minister for Justice and Equality two weeks ago and we had a detailed discussion on it. We acknowledged that improvements had been made and we have been able to work with An Garda Síochána to support it to improve its capacity in this area. We also acknowledged, however, that there are shortcomings which remain. We will work very hard with An Garda Síochána in the months and years ahead to ensure its members have the resources, technology and training they need to protect our children.

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