Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 35:

In page 25, line 28, to delete “for a specified term”.

We have discussed this matter previously. The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that a prohibition on working with children or vulnerable people can be imposed on life-sentence prisoners. By deleting the text "for a specified term", any ambiguity is removed as to whether this can be applied to life-sentence prisoners. As Members are aware, the most serious crimes against children carry a life sentence and I wish to be absolutely certain that a court can impose a prohibition on these offenders.

We had a discussion on Committee Stage when colleagues raised interesting and valid points around the application of prohibition orders and working with children and vulnerable people. Legal advice was sought by my Department from the Office of the Attorney General, which confirmed that a prohibition on work is a penalty, not a civil order and therefore, when added to the prison sentence, cannot constitutionally exceed the maximum penalty for the offence in question.

I reassure Deputies that there is a suite of legislative measures to prevent convicted sex offenders from working with children. These measures include the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 the core obligation of which is in section 12. The section provides that a relevant organisation shall not employ, enter into a contract with, or permit any person to undertake relevant work or activities without vetting done by the Garda National Vetting Bureau and failure to comply with this is a criminal offence. This amendment really just makes sure that by deleting "for a specified term", we ensure that the life-sentence term actually comes in under this and that it can apply to someone who receives a life sentence for this type of crime.

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