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Updated 11.15pm
THE GOVERNMENT HAS promised that legislation dealing with sex offenders will be published in draft form by the end of the month insisting there will be “no foot-dragging” on the issue.
Speaking on behalf of the Justice Minister in the Dáil today the Minister of State Brian Hayes said that the government will not oppose the Child Sex Offenders Information and Monitoring Bill that was introduced by the Reform Alliance TD Denis Naughten.
The bill will now go to the Oireachtas Justice Committee but Hayes confirmed that the government intends to bring forward its own heads of bill before the end of the month to deal with “this multifaceted issue”.
Naughten earlier told the Dáil that one-in-five people on the current sex offenders register have breached the conditions of it. He said that the current system isn’t working.
He explained that there are currently 1,303 people on the sex offenders register and claimed that between 2004 and June this year there have been 261 recorded breaches of its conditions.
Naughten’s bill proposes to establish the Information on Child Sex Offenders Scheme which would enable parents or guardians to find out whether a person coming into contact with their child or vulnerable adult has been convicted of a sexual offence or poses a danger to them.
Speaking today Hayes said that any bill must take account of the fact that most sexual violence against children or vulnerable adults are likely to be committed by a family member.
He told the Dáil: “My concern is that the dominance in the discourse of the risk posed by a shadow behind a bush, instead of the footstep on the stairs, can divert our attention from the greatest likelihood of danger to children and may make it more difficult for children to report abuse by those they trust and depend on most.”
Naughten said that he is anxious that current loopholes be closed off and welcomed the government’s support for the legislation.
Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on children, Robert Troy, said that garda resources needed to be protected in order to ensure the government is committed to dealing with child sexual abuse.
“There are areas that have to be given priority and this is one of those,” he said referring to the register
“We do not need other cases like the shocking one in Athlone last week that horrified parents across Ireland,” Troy added, referring to an alleged sexual assault of two girls at a children’s birthday partylast month.
First published 2pm
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I actually don’t care. Whatever they introduce will end up toothless due to our pathetically lenient judiciary failing to implement it stringently or correctly.
We need a body of citizens to decide on incarceration periods once actus reus is found to have occurred. And no probation or suspended sentences for repeat offenders or particular crimes.
Mens Rea not necessary? Romeo & Juliet, Parmenides
Currently 1,303 people on the sex offenders register, from 2004 to now 261 recorded breaches of its conditions.
Surly they should be ‘chipped and tracked’, central website so that the public can see where they live and who they are?
I would usually disagree with such an invasion of privacy, but a repeat sex offender is without a doubt deserving of such measures.
If there is absolute evidence that the person is a threat to society then maybe it is a good idea.
Will this bill be a vigilante’s charter? A populist law which will make it impossible for former sex offenders to build new, lawful lives in any community?
@ John B: A leopard can’t change its spots. An ass is always an ass, it cannot become anything more than an Ass. IF convicted as a child molester / pedophile then that is what they are. They may reform, but the people who live beside them need to be aware that they may look into the old mirror again.
If you knew your neighbor:
- Stole from others, you wouldn’t ask them to look after your house
- Was a Alcoholic, call them for a lift home
- Was convicted as a Child molester, ask them to babysit
Prevention is better than cure, awareness is better than “didn’t you know”
Against this for a few reasons:
1) As Minister Hayes pointed out, the so-called “stranger danger” is a lie that we use to fool ourselves into thinking that paedophiles are bearded trench-coat wearing bad guys, as opposed to close members of our family.
2) People who have committed a crime and have served a sentence SHOULD have an expectation that upon their release, they can completely rebuild their lives. A sex offenders register is a barrier in and of itself to people doing that.
3) Not all sex offenders are a danger to children. Fact. A guy who has a fetish for raping grannies isn’t going to find a pre-pubscent kid very attractive.
Mandatory Garda vetting & training for people working in close contact with children should do the trick. No need to (needlessly) stoke people’s paranoia.
So if a teacher or children’s care worker is convicted of child sexual abuse, should they be allowed return to their former line of work on release from prison? If not then why? I always understood that a criminal conviction reflected on you for the rest of your life, if it doesn’t then where is the deterrent?
You either lock them up for life OR they serve a sentence and the so called balance is restored.
What is the point in letting them back into society if they cannot be Integrated. Obviously they should not be allowed in obvious situations where your likely to reoffend. You wouldn’t dangle heroin in a heroin addicts face.
No, they shouldn’t be allowed back into their line of work. But it is completely unjustifiable to allow people a free for all to dig up dirt on other people, just because they may come into contact with their children.
When you come out of prison after completing your sentence, it’s generally understood that you’ve “paid your debt to society”. You’re given a chance to rebuild your life as a law-abiding member of society. If you give someone the permanent status of “convict” then you’re doing two things:
1) Admitting that society deems them unreformable. This is constant barrage of negative messaging is in itself damaging to their chances of rehabilitation. It means that they are more likely to offend because “sure what else would you expect off the likes of him?”
2) You’re shutting off doors to them, should they choose to reform their lives. The fact that convicts (especially true for thieves, drug dealers, smugglers etc) find it harder to find employment after their release makes going back to their bad old ways seem like a better option. The fact that a large chunk of criminals don’t reform means that nobody wants them working for them, granted. But this in turn leads to higher rates of recidivism, which in turn leads to the reputation of convicts being blackened further. Something needs to be done to break this vicious circle.
Now when it comes to sex-offenders, the right of a convict to rebuild his life must be balanced against the right of a child to a safe and secure environment. However, we already have procedures in place to prevent people with a conviction for sexual offenses working with children. These procedures need to be properly carried out. There is no call for allowing parents the right to know that a convict, who has served his sentence, is living on their road. This leads to social-alienation, and damages our social fabric.
As Richard Sweeney said it, if we’ve decided that sex-offenders are a permanent danger to society, then we should just lock them up for the rest of their lives. I’m far from convinced that this is the case.
It’s a great bill to bring forward to sweep the Seanad Referendum under the rug isn’t it!!!!!!
Kev
You can get treatment for that type of complex.
It’s no harm to remind the public, Richie.
Repeat offenders; chop it off and make eunuchs of them instead of spending millions of taxpayers on useless “rehab”. It may put a few quacks off the pay list, but it’s better than the results after their inevitable early release.
Should we also chop off hands when caught stealing in this barbaric utopia
To even compare stealing as impacting, or even potentially impacting on someone’s life as much as a sexual assault impacts on a victim’s life, it’s no wonder some people around here have to hide their face.
And what about murderers , serial killers , human traffickers , major importers and distributors of narcotics etc ?? Just remember , if two fifteen year olds have sex in this country , the male 15 year old can be registered as a sex offender and convicted as a rapist , that is the law. To bring the logic of such a populist move to its natural conclusion; do I not have a right to know if there are convicted burglars living in my neighbourhood, or convicted violent muggers perhaps(quite a traumatic experience I assure you) , and what about convicted car thieves living nearby , at the very least Im sure the insurance company would like to know and adjust my premium to reflect the perceived increased risk accordingly.What about convicted arsonists that might burn my house down , or con artists. By the way I love the presumptuous sexism that all sex offenders have a penis that you can chop off in a crude effort to solve the problem.
Lets also think of the victim trying to rebuild their lives? It is always about the perpetrators!!!! Think about those two little girls in Athlone how are they going to rebuild their lives.
Denis deserves credit,he is on ball,as always.
Its an emotional topic but FG / Lab like messing with topics close to peoples heart to distract from the appalling job they are doing.
The sex offender’s registered in public domain will cause more problems than it solves.
After a few fokes turn up with pitchforks and they will, none of these offenders will be at their registered addresses or using their own names. So instead of the gardai just knowing where they are no one will know.
We should be able to see where they live and how close they are to us. In the USA they have Apps that we can use to see this information.
Denis Naughten has worked hard to bring this to the Government but unfortunately 2 little girls had to suffer at the hands of a despicable person for the Government to take this issue seriously I Wish the 2 little girls all my very best wishes and their parents and family. We should always put the safety and well being of children first and foremost without having to have discussions and talks about it.
The person who committed that heinous crime in Athlone should be hung for their crimes. That said , the alleged offender was NOT a previously convicted child rapist and therefor neither the current register nor the enactment of any of the proposed changes to it would have prevented what happened or even given local parents a ‘heads-up’
I would so welcome this … but I have to wonder what happens if I find out the guy two doors down is a child molester do I lock my kids up , leave my home !!??? How could you ever feel comfortable to let your child out to play !!!! I think if they offend once then they needs to be put into a mental hospital for the rest of there days , its not prison they need because these people have a mental conditions and shouldn’t even be a load to walk around freely ever !!!! Its actually crazy that there are people in lock down for smaller crimes, someone who wants to hurt a child like that man in atlone is not your normal criminal and should not ever be allowed ointo society again , people saying oh they have to rebuild there lives , I don’t think they deserve to rebuild there lives I don’t believe in torture either tho I just think they should be put on a remote island together somewhere away from innocent people
Maybe a repeat offender is incapable of change. So psychiatric institutional care for life, may be the only option. Certainly not releasing, and branding. Helps no one.
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