Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State. It is an important subject. We all wholeheartedly support North-South co-operation in the management of sex offenders and their movements, all efforts to ensure that convicted sex offenders on either side of the Border cannot seek refuge or anonymity on the other side and, particularly for our area of responsibility, that the Republic is not seen as a safe haven for those who have been convicted of these nefarious crimes in Northern Ireland or the United Kingdom.

The CSO recorded crime statistics for the third quarter of 2010 which show a shocking 80% increase in sexual offences on the same period of 2009. One has to accept that this rise in the number of recorded sexual offences for the first nine months can be partly explained by an ongoing review of all cases reported to the Garda Síochána, some of which will have occurred in the distant past but which are represented in the current figures being reported. The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre reported in October an alarming increase in the number of victims accompanied to the sexual assault treatment unit in the Rotunda Hospital and an extraordinary increase in the number of calls to its helpline, which is compared to a 40% increase in the past year.

The importance of co-operation between North and South has been highlighted by particular cases where convicted paedophiles have travelled back and forth between Britain and Ireland from the mid-1970s until recent times. A number of cases have been highlighted in the media, although I will not mention the names, and the various examples have confirmed that Ireland is seen as a safe haven. People who were convicted of attempted rape in the United Kingdom have been detected in this country and some other individuals who were convicted or suspected of the most serious crimes of this nature have been identified in this jurisdiction.

The Sex Offenders Act 2001 included a provision to ensure Ireland would not become a safe haven for sex offenders convicted outside Ireland and who might seek to avoid the reporting requirements imposed on them by the place of conviction. As the Minister of State said, anyone who is convicted of a sexual offence in another country and who later moves to Ireland is subject to a reporting requirement in the same way as someone convicted in Ireland. However, not having a modern sex offenders database but rather a paper system is unfortunate and something that must be rectified if we are to have the effective co-operation and monitoring we seek.

The Minister of State highlighted various agreements and areas of co-operation between the PSNI and the Garda Síochána. In this area, as in so many others, the two organisations work extremely well together and this is all the more important given the increase in dissident republican terrorist activity. One can see from the list of areas of co-operation within this area of sexual offenders the evidence of greater understanding and deep co-operation between the two organisations, which is very important.

The then Minister of State with responsibility for children, Deputy Brendan Smith, on 13 February 2008 promised that it was intended to update and bring the legislation underpinning the sex offenders register more into line with that in our neighbouring jurisdictions and to strengthen further the legislation on sexual grooming in light of continuing developments in technology. The Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, said in March 2009 that the notification period for the purposes of the sex offenders register would be reduced from seven days to three days to bring it into line with requirements in Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, an issue which was raised earlier this month by Deputy Alan Shatter. Notwithstanding that statement by the Minister in 2009, that notification period still stands at seven days. The Minister of State said the Department of Justice and Law Reform is developing legislative proposals to bring the current notification requirement of seven days into line with Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom but that is the same promise made in March 2009 and we are no further towards regularising the situation. If we are serious about co-operation with the Northern Ireland authorities in this area, we should get our act together and do what we promise.

There is a clear need for a computerised all-Ireland sex offenders register. The UK has had such a system since its launch in 2006 - the violent and sex offender register. The lack of such a system in our jurisdiction seriously hampers our ability to play our part in co-operation with the PSNI.

The Ombudsman for Children's report on Children First guidelines recommends that a list of sex offenders in an area should be given to each local health office in order that the risk to children can be assessed. Will the Minister of State comment on whether that recommendation has been followed?

The Minister of State referred to electronic tagging. Given the overcrowding in our prisons and the particular importance of electronic tagging in regard to sex offenders, the progress in this area has been very slow. The Minister of State indicated there is an ongoing pilot project in this area and, hopefully, this will provide guidance on how we move forward on the matter.

I welcome the fact this matter is on the Order of Business today. The recent case of a man who had served his sentence for a most heinous sexual crime, and the concern in the community that was created by his release, highlights how important this issue is for many people. Neither jurisdiction, North or South, must be utilised to provide a hiding place and anonymity for sexual offenders.

The only other issue I wish to highlight concerns reports that only a small proportion of sex offenders in prisons have received specialised treatment. The Minister for Justice and Law reform has not acted on this matter, either to ensure greater resources be made available so sex offenders can avail of specialised psychiatric or psychological treatment, or to ensure the imposition of a sanction for not availing of such treatment. This issue needs to be addressed but has not been addressed by the Government.

The Minister of State has outlined quite comprehensively the depth of co-operation between the PSNI and the Garda Síochána. The latter takes the monitoring of sex offenders very seriously and has carried out its work in an exemplary fashion. I welcome the fact that these statements are on the Order of Business and that the Minister of State has stressed the importance of North-South co-operation between police forces. This matter has the full support of the Fine Gael Party.