Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The people who the Minister has been talking to in the Garda and those to whom I have been talking to are very different. I have been talking to people who are enforcing this at the coalface. There is a requirement, within three days of people changing their name by deed poll, to notify a divisional Garda headquarters somewhere in the country. This comes back to the argument we had at the start of this debate. Someone who is residing in County Roscommon might change his or her name by deed poll and then inform the gardaí in Wexford of the name change. That person has then complied with the legislation. Along with the hundreds of other emails and activity report updates that gardaí in Roscommon get, buried in the middle, will be one about this individual who has changed his or her name. Gardaí are supposed to be able to pick that out and ensure that the person in question is being appropriately monitored.

The difficulty is that we are creating additional barriers for gardaí to effectively monitor sex offenders who want to go under the radar. I cannot understand why, in those circumstances, contacting Wexford Garda station about someone residing in Roscommon, Galway or Mayo is appropriate or acceptable. I do not believe it is. I would like to see the Courts Service inform the Garda authorities and for them to then inform the member of the force who is monitoring that sex offender in County Roscommon, County Galway or wherever of the change in name. This would ensure that we have an effective and robust register. Do not let this legislation go through with the anomalies, which I accept that the House voted for earlier, including this particular anomaly.

See this speech in context