Dáil debates
Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage
5:30 pm
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source
I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
I am pleased to bring the Bill before the House. This is an extremely important Bill ,which will enhance the monitoring of convicted sex offenders upon release from prison, leading to increased public safety. I have no doubt that every Member shares my commitment to keeping our communities, and particularly women and children, safe from the trauma caused by sexual violence. This Bill aims to do so by strengthening the powers that currently exist for monitoring sex offenders and to restrict their activities where that is necessary. We must strike a balance between monitoring and restricting offenders and support them in their rehabilitation. Reintegration is an important factor in reducing offending. This Bill aims to strike that balance by ensuring that monitoring and restrictions are informed by the risk posed in individual cases and that interventions and conditions can be targeted and can be varied by the courts to be as effective as possible.
The amendments to the Sex Offenders Act 2001 outlined in this Bill reflect the Government's commitment to protecting the most vulnerable in our society from harm. The Bill addresses the risks posed by sex offenders following their release, but it is only one strand of a much broader body of work my Department is undertaking to tackle domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and to keep communities safe. Combating this violence has been a priority for me since taking office. The way our system has historically treated victims of domestic and sexual violence has, quite simply, not been good enough. Victims do not feel supported and the system did not protect them from further trauma. It is not surprising that this has deterred people from coming forward. Working to change this is a priority for me and while we have made much progress in the past 18 months, our intensive efforts to make the system more responsive to the needs of victims will continue.
Supporting a Victim's Journey, when fully implemented, will create a victim-centred approach that protects and supports vulnerable witnesses during the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences. We know, for example, that training in this area is crucial. Every person I meet stresses how important the training piece is. All the staff who engage with vulnerable victims will receive training on victim engagement and on understanding the victim's perspective. We have implemented significant reform in this area. This includes legislation for preliminary trial hearings, increased funding for NGOs providing court accompaniment and related information and support services and a review of grants for organisations supporting victims, which has identified gaps in service provision and is working with partners to try to address them. The first cohort of staff at a new sexual offences unit in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, formally took up their roles in April and I am hearing that this is having a positive impact. The University of Limerick, UL, has been commissioned by the Department to develop the framework for the operation and training of intermediaries to work with those who need their support going through a trial process. The improved victims charter website which provides repository of information for victims has been updated and will continue to be updated and progressed.
Under budget 2022, a total of €13 million is being allocated to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and to support victims, an increase of €5 million on the previous year. Raising awareness and working to change the acceptance of what should be socially acceptable or unacceptable behaviour is another important area of work to combat all forms of sexual harassment and sexual violence. The No Excuses campaign being run by my Department raises awareness of sexual harassment and violence. The campaign aims to bring about a change in long-established societal behaviour and attitudes and to activate bystanders to intervene where it is safe to do so. Work is also under way on a national campaign on the meaning and importance of healthy consent in a sexual context. It is important to outline the wider context in which we consider the Bill, as I am very conscious that it addresses only one area of concern to victims of sexual offences, albeit a very important one.
I will outline what is proposed in it. The Sexual Offenders Act 2001 provides the legislative basis for the monitoring of convicted sex offenders in the State. This Bill aims simply to strengthen the Act. Part 1 is a standard Part, which gives the Title and definitions used in the Bill. Part 2 deals with the amendments to the Sex Offenders Act 2001. The Bill introduces new definitions into the Act of 2001. Of particular note is the substitution of "vulnerable person" for "mentally impaired" person to replace the outdated language of the 2001 Act. A significant feature of the Bill is the changes to the notification requirements, also known as the sex offenders register.
The 2001 Act requires those who are subject the Act to notify An Garda Síochána of any changes in address within seven days. It also required offenders to notify the Garda if they are outside the State or away from their home address for more than seven days. The Bill proposes to reduce the notification period to three days. If an offender leaves their home address for three days or more, they will need to inform the Garda in person of this change. This will ensure that the Garda has the most up-to-date information on the whereabouts of the convicted sex offenders.
Sex offenders will now also be required to notify the Garda every 12 months of their home address. For example, an offender, who has not moved house, left their home address for a qualifying period or travelled abroad, will now be required to notify their address to the Garda every 12 months. This requirement does not exist currently. If a member of the Garda is not satisfied that the offender making the notification has a home address, the Garda can require that person to notify every third day the place they intend to reside that night until the Garda is satisfied that a home address has been acquired.
The Bill also proposes changes to how an offender makes a notification. Currently they can notify the Garda in writing. This will be changed to reporting in person with notifying in writing only available to those who are outside the State for a period longer than intended. Provisions have has been made for those who cannot report in person due to disability. A person convicted outside the State who becomes a resident or who stays in Ireland for qualifying time will also have the notification period reduced to three days. These changes will bring the notification requirements in line with those in the Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Bill makes changes to the length of time an offender who is under the age of 18 will be subject to the notification requirements. This will now be determined by the courts and shall not exceed five years. The Bill proposes giving the Garda the power to take fingerprints palm prints and photographs of offenders. The purpose of these provisions is to verify the identity of a person who is making a notification and to assist in locating an offender if he or she absconds. It will be an offence to fail or refuse to give fingerprints, palm prints or photographs.
The Bill will place the existing sex offenders risk assessment and management multi-agency structure, known as SORAM, on a statutory basis, which is not the case currently. It provides for the establishment of assessment teams comprising the Garda, the Probation Service, the HSE, Tusla, the housing authorities and any other relevant agency to assess and to manage the risk posed by high-risk offenders. Providing a statutory basis for SORAM will ensure that the sharing of information to enable the assessment and management of risk of convicted sex offenders is legally sound; that it is compliant with the rights of offenders; and that it is limited to the information necessary while still meeting the justifiable public safety objective.
The Bill provides the Garda with the power to disclose information about a sex offender's previous convictions to a member or members of the public, but only where the person poses a risk of causing harm. I understand that disclosure of information to the public about sex offenders is a sensitive issue. Some would argue such information should be more widely available. However, if information on sex offenders is widely available to the public there is a general feeling that this would increase the risk of sex offenders going underground, which would, of course, hamper the ability of the Garda and the Probation Service to manage the risk posed by them.
I want offenders to engage with the services. Rehabilitation and reintegration are essential to reduce the risk of reoffending and to keep our communities safer. That is why disclosure is limited under the provisions of the Bill so that if the Garda believe a risk is posed to a member of the public by an offender, it will have discretion to disclose information about the offender. A clear example would be if an offender was convicted of offences against a child and perhaps they started a relationship with a person who had a child or children and it was felt that there was a risk.
Provision is also made for the sharing of relevant information about an offender with police services outside of the State. The legislation will also allow the Garda to publish information on an offender if the whereabouts of the offender is unknown to locate him or her again. This can only take place where there is risk to public safety.
The protection of children and the most vulnerable in our society is at the core of this legislation. With this in mind, it proposes to provide that a court can impose a prohibition on a convicted sex offender from working with children and vulnerable adults. I want to ensure this applies to volunteering as well as working. In considering whether to impose a prohibition, the court will have regard to the need to protect children or vulnerable persons from serious harm by the offender and the need to prevent the commission of subsequent sexual offences. Safeguards are built into the measure to ensure it is fair and proportionate. Non-compliance with prohibition will be an offence punishable on indictment by imprisonment for up to five years.
Under the 2001 Act, the Garda can apply to the court for a sex offender order to compel a person not to do certain things. The new legislation allows the Garda to apply to the court to discharge or vary the order. For example, if the offender has been ordered not to loiter in the vicinity of a school playground but is then found to be loitering in the vicinity of another place where children may congregate, the Garda can apply to the court to have him or her ordered away from this place as well as anywhere similar.
Another important proposal in this legislation is the introduction of electronic monitoring of sex offenders. Under the Bill, a court may order the electronic monitoring of a convicted sex offender who is subject to a post-release supervision order or a sex offender order that includes a condition restricting the offender's movement. It is important to acknowledge that while electronic monitoring is a complex area, there is evidence that electronic monitoring can be effective in respect of sex offenders when it is used for a short duration in tandem with other interventions, such as probation supervision. That is what is being proposed in this Bill.
The aim of the Bill is to provide our courts with a range of appropriate tools and interventions to monitor and reduce the risks posed by sex offenders, to facilitate rehabilitation and, most important, to protect every member of the public. Electronic monitoring is one way of doing that and that is why I want to give the courts that option.
The Bill contains important provisions that will enhance the monitoring and the management of sex offenders in the community. The provisions have been carefully designed to strike the right balance between the rights of the offender and the need to protect our community. I thank those in the House who have supported this Bill to date and I look forward to the debate this evening.
No comments