Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)

I will give consideration to the Bill but I do not want to progress legislation that is unnecessary. In circumstances where a person gets a life sentence for a very serious sexual offence such as rape, when it comes to that person's release many years later, conditions of release will be imposed upon that person. Those conditions can direct that the person shall not go anywhere near the victim or that he or she shall stay away from a town where the victim has resided. I would not like the message to go out that there is no mechanism by which the State can put in place conditions after a person has been released. As I have said, I am concerned that the legislation the Deputy is suggesting imposes an obligation that would probably not kick in until seven, ten or 12 years later. I am happy to look at the imposition of controls on persons convicted of a sexual offence who are subject to immediate release, but such a mechanism already exists in the Sex Offenders Act, which imposes very strict obligations on those convicted of sexual offences.

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