Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 209: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the concerns that have been expressed regarding the inadequacies in the operation of the sex offenders register which is a measure intended to assist in the tracking of convicted paedophiles; his views on whether there is a need for a central database; and if so, the time frame for the provision of same. [9682/07]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Sex Offenders Act which commenced on 27 September 2001 sets out the 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 An 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 Service on their release from prison.

Before an offender is released from prison, the Prison Service must inform him/her that he or she is subject to the notification requirement of the Act. Ten days before the date of release, the Prison Service must inform An Garda Síochána that s/he is being released. An 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 on the PULSE computer system.

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.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that any child protection issues arising are advised to the relevant Health Service authorities, as provided for under the Children First guidelines. The provisions of the Act are kept under constant review by my Department with a view to ensuring the Act is operating in an efficient and effective manner. It is my intention that the Criminal Law (Trafficking in Persons and Sexual Offences) Bill, which is currently being drafted, will contain provisions to strengthen the monitoring of registered sex offenders. Among these are raising the penalty for failure to register from 12 months to five years imprisonment, thus making it an arrestable offence, and giving probation officers power to prosecute offenders who fail to comply with the terms of a post release supervision order. Other provisions in the Bill will relate to risk assessment of sex offenders.