Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 94: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he is considering a sex offenders' register or similar system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31682/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Sex Offenders Act 2001 contains a number of provisions aimed at reducing the risk to the public from convicted sex offenders. These include a notification system, also known as the sex offenders' register. The Act requires convicted sex offenders to notify the Garda Síochána of their name and home address within 7 days of becoming subject to the notification requirement. Thereafter, offenders must notify the Gardaí of any subsequent change of name or address within 7 days of such change. Absences from and return to the State are required to be notified and the legislation also applies to sex offenders convicted outside the State.

The information on the register is not available to the public. In exceptional circumstances, appropriate information can be given to members of the public. Currently, this is done on an administrative basis but, subject to Government approval, I intend to put these arrangements on a statutory footing. The High Level Group which produced and published a discussion document on sex offenders was of the view that, if the Gardaí have reason to believe a particular high risk convicted sex offender poses a real and immediate danger, they should be free to tell individuals who need to know. Disclosure in such circumstances is perfectly reasonable.

Giving the general public unrestricted access to names and addresses on the sex offenders' register would be likely to be counter-productive. That kind of access would drive offenders underground and make it more difficult to monitor and supervise them. This was the universal view of those who responded to the discussion document and participated in the public forum on the management of sex offenders.