Séamus Healy (Tipperary, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy O'Sullivan on this child protection legislation, the aim of which is to protect children and vulnerable adults from sexual predators. This is a vast industry said to be a $32 billion one, only behind the arms race. Approximately 4.5 million young people and vulnerable adults are trapped in this sex tourism industry on an ongoing basis. The common denominator in this area is the question of poverty and the lack of education. It is an important piece of legislation. It is also a measured piece of legislation. It respects the constitutional right to travel.

This type of legislation is not new. It has already been introduced in Australia in 2017. We should follow suit. In 2017, the Australian Government became the first to pass legislation to restrict travel and cancel the passports of convicted paedophiles on the national child sex offenders register. There were 20,000 people on that register in 2017. Another 2,500 offenders were added the following year. These were offenders who served a sentence but were not allowed to travel abroad. One report stated that in 2017, before this legislation came into being, approximately 800 convicted sex offenders travelled annually to south east Asia to countries like the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand. When we hear this we feel outraged and helpless.

However, those of us in the House tonight can do something positive in this regard by supporting Deputy O'Sullivan's Bill and move it to the next Stage.

The Bill aims to empower judges to restrict, where appropriate, the travel of persons convicted of a sexual offence where it is deemed that travel could pose a risk to vulnerable persons in jurisdictions outside the State that do not have adequate child protection and child welfare legislation. The aim of the Bill is to amend the Sex Offenders Act 2001 in a technical way and make specific changes on a case-by-case basis that would allow judges to make travel restrictions, as I have already said. I believe this legislation is measured. It allows judges to make restrictions on a case-by-case basis. Judges can also consider whether the convicted offender has engaged in any significant rehabilitative process.

The most important part of the Bill or the most important change that the Bill is putting forward is a change in the definition of "serious harm" in the current law. In the current law, serious harm is defined as "death or serious personal injury, whether physical or psychological, which would be occasioned if the offender were to commit a sexual offence after he or she has been released into the community". The legislation would change the interpretation of physical or psychological harm caused by the person. This change would make it far easier to stop a registered sex offender from travelling abroad. Of course, the distinction is that all sexual harm to children is serious harm. Irish legislation should reflect that.

The legislation is also supported by Fr. Shay Cullen who has worked in this area in the Philippines for many years, having set up an organisation called the PREDA Foundation in 1974. The organisation rescues sexually-abused children. Social workers and therapists take care of them and help them to heal and overcome the trauma of rape and sexual assault perpetrated by foreign child sex offenders. Some of them are likely to travel to developing countries from Ireland. We know that prevention is better than cure. I believe that we have the power, influence and responsibility in the House tonight to prevent Irish paedophiles from travelling to foreign countries where the rule of law is weak and children are vulnerable. The case made by Fr. Cullen and others has been made clearly and plainly. Young people have been sexually abused by these tourists in countries where the law is simply not strong enough to deter commission of these offences.

There is clear evidence that in Ireland, as recently as February of this year, the question of pornography and paedophilia on the Internet has been exposed. Homes were raided here in February of this year of paedophile suspects based on information received from the authorities in the USA, Canada and other law enforcement agencies. It is reported that as many as 150,000 images of children being sexually abused were found. Certainly, we do not want these paedophiles to be allowed to travel from Ireland to take advantage of poor and uneducated children in other parts of the world.

I am disappointed that the Minister of State and the Government are not supporting this legislation. I appeal to the Minister of State to withdraw his opposition and support this legislation. Any changes or discussions that are needed and any checking of this legislation that is required can be done on Committee Stage.

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