Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 222: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the law and practice governing the release of convicted sex offenders from custody; the nature of the monitoring that takes place; the extra measures which are in place to guard against paedophiles re-offending on release; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6154/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Sex Offenders Act 2001 contains provisions under Part 2 of the Act relating to the release from prison of persons convicted of a sexual offence listed in the Schedule to the Act. In accordance with the provisions of the Act, the governor of the prison or the person in charge at the time, must advise the Garda Síochána of the impending release of such offenders. In addition, the governor of the prison or the person in charge at the time must also inform the convicted person, prior to their final release from the prison, of their obligation to notify the Garda Síochána of his or her name and address within seven days of their release from custody. Thereafter, the offender must notify the gardaí of any change of name or address within seven days of that change.

Notification of any address where the offender spends either as much as seven days or two or more periods amounting to seven days in any 12 month period must also be given to the gardaí. If the offender intends to leave the State for a period of seven days or more, he or she must inform the gardaí of this fact and the address at which he or she intends to stay, and also notify the gardaí of his or her return. The provisions of the Act also extend to any sex offenders entering this jurisdiction from abroad who have an obligation to register in their own countries.

If the court imposed an order for post-release supervision, Part 5 of the 2001 Act obliges the convicted person to undergo supervision by the probation and welfare service for a specified period and to comply with such conditions that are specified in the sentence for securing that supervision. Should a sex offender fail to comply with their obligations as outlined in the Act, the offender is guilty of an offence and subject to a fine of £1,500 or €1,905 and-or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months.

Additional measures contained in the Sex Offenders Act 2001 make it mandatory for a convicted sex offender to inform their employer or future employer of their conviction if their job entails having unsupervised access to children. The Act also allows for a chief superintendent of the Garda Síochána to request the court to make a sex offender order, whereby a sex offender can be prohibited from behaving in a particular way, where such behaviour is perceived by the court as having a potential danger to the welfare of children. It should be noted that Garda clearance is now required for potential employees in a number of occupations which entail access to or authority over children.

My Department, the Irish Prison Service and the probation and welfare service are collectively examining all the issues involved in increasing the number of sex offenders attending programmes, both in prison and in the community. As well as looking at how to get prisoners into the current programme, they are examining how the services can improve the range of interventions available to offenders, and thereby increase the number of offenders addressing their offending. Their core concern is that any approach proposed should contribute to enhancing societal and community protection.

In the context of the Good Friday Agreement and the subsequent Criminal Justice Review of Northern Ireland, an intergovernmental agreement on North-South co-operation on criminal justice matters was signed on behalf of the Irish and British Governments in July 2005. One of the items included in the work programme for the first year is the establishment of a working group to review the arrangements for exchanging information on registered sex offenders.

The first meeting of the working group of officials to implement the agreement took place in Dublin in November 2005. The meeting agreed to the establishment of a registered sex offenders advisory group. This group will evaluate the potential for sharing information, including potential benefits and barriers, and will identify areas for future co-operation. The group will consist of representatives of the Garda Síochána, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, my Department and the Northern Ireland Office. In addition, the probation and welfare service and the Probation Board for Northern Ireland are in the process of drawing up a protocol for the management of sex offenders which would establish mutual arrangements for continued enforcement of community sanctions. This development is the result of a memorandum of understanding between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of Ireland on information sharing arrangements relating to sex offenders.