Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 184: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will amend section 10 of the Sex Offenders Act 2001 to require persons convicted of a sexual offence under section 3 of the Act to register with An Garda Síochána within three days; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42060/06]

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 185: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will amend section 10(8)(a) of the Sex Offenders Act 2001 to require persons convicted of a sexual offence under section 3 of the Act to register with An Garda Síochána in the Garda district in which they propose to reside; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42061/06]

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 186: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will amend section 10(8)(b) of the Sex Offenders Act 2001 to require persons convicted of a sexual offence under section 3 of the Act to register with An Garda Síochána in person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42062/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 184 to 186, inclusive, together.

The Criminal Law (Trafficking in Persons and Sexual Offences) Act 2006, which has been approved by Government and is at present being drafted, contains several amendments to the Sex Offenders Act 2001. I am now examining further amendments to the Act, in particular to harmonise our laws more closely with those in our neighbouring jurisdictions and to ensure that we can deal further with sex offenders who might come here from abroad. I will seek Government approval to include any such amendments in the Bill at present being drafted.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 187: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans to establish a register of sex offenders here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42063/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Sex Offenders Act, 2001 which commenced on 27 September 2001 sets out the notification obligations on persons convicted of a range of sexual offences against both children and adults. A convicted sex offender must notify his/her name(s), date of birth and current home address to the Garda Síochána within seven days of the conviction for the sexual offence concerned or, where the offender is sentenced to imprisonment, from the date of full release from prison.

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 twelve 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 s/he must inform the Gardaí of this fact and the address at which s/he intends to stay and also notify the Gardaí of his/her return. If s/he did not intend to stay away for more than seven days but did, s/he must inform the Gardaí within a further seven days.

The provisions of the Act extend to any sex offenders entering this jurisdiction from abroad who have an obligation to register in their own countries or who have been convicted abroad of an offence comparable to one covered by the Act.

Part 4 of the Sex Offenders Act 2001 provides that it is an offence for convicted sex offenders to apply for, or to accept, work or to offer services, a necessary and regular part of which consists mainly of unsupervised access to, or contact with, children or mentally impaired persons, without informing the employer or organisation of his/her conviction for a qualifying sexual offence.

It is an offence to fail to comply with the notification requirements. The penalty is imprisonment for up to 12 months or a fine of €1,900 or both.

The courts can also sentence an offender who has been found guilty of an offence under the schedule of offences in the Act to a period of statutory supervision under the Probation and Welfare Service on their release from prison. Before an offender is released from prison, the Prison Service must inform him/her that they are subject to the notification requirement of the Act. Ten days before the date of release, the Prison Service must inform the Garda Síochána that s/he is being released.

The Garda Síochána has in place a system for the monitoring of persons subject to these requirements. The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit monitor and manage the notification provisions. The information on persons who are subject to the requirements of the Sex Offenders Act, 2001 is maintained at a central location. Only specified nominated Garda personnel have access to this information.

There are nominated Garda Inspectors in each Garda Division who are notified by the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit when a sex offender, who is subject to the requirements of the Act, is resident in their Division. These inspectors are responsible for the monitoring of such offenders.

The Garda authorities are currently preparing to computerise the system for recording persons subject to the requirements of the Act and integrate it into the PULSE system.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 188: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps he has taken to establish a pan-European Union register of sex offenders that would be accessible by nominated members of the law enforcement community in each member state; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42064/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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On 27 November I signed a Memorandum of Understanding on information sharing arrangements between Ireland and the UK relating to sex offenders.

The MOU was negotiated between my Department and the Home Office, with input from the Northern Ireland Office. It relates to information about persons travelling between Ireland and the UK and who are subject to sex offender notification requirements in their own jurisdiction. This covers sex offenders travelling between any of the legal jurisdictions in these islands. The rationale for the Memorandum is that such information will be shared between police forces for the purposes of protecting the public from the risks presented by sex offenders — whether paedophile or otherwise — and investigating serious sexual offences. The transmission of any information necessary to achieve these purposes is covered.

As a result of the MOU, the exchange of such information between the Garda Síochána and British police forces, which of course has already been taking place for some time, is now being put on a formal footing. The information will now be shared as a matter of course.

This Memorandum of Understanding is another example of the close relationship between Ireland and the UK and in particular between the two parts of this island. It is also the most recent example of the benefits which accrue to both sides through cooperation and coordination in the areas of criminal justice and law enforcement.

As the MOU provides, its use and effectiveness will be kept under review, and I am confident that full use will be made of its potential by the police forces of all our jurisdictions.

A Registered Sex Offender Advisory Group has been established consisting of representatives of An Garda Síochána, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Northern Ireland Office. As part of its work, this Group evaluates the potential for sharing information, examining the registration criteria in both jurisdictions for sex offenders and identifying areas for further co-operation.

The provisions of the Sex Offenders Act 2001 are kept under constant review by my Department with a view to ensuring the Act is operating in an efficient and effective manner.

Discussions have commenced, at Working Group level within the Council of the European Union, on a proposal for a Council Framework Decision on the organisation and content of the exchange of information extracted from criminal records between Member States. These discussions follow the adoption in 2005 by the Council of a Council Decision on the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record, which supplements the relevant provisions of the Council of Europe 1959 European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.