With the permission of the Chair I wish to share my time with Deputy Neville.
Adjournment Debate. - Sex Offenders Register.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I raise this matter in response to a worrying newspaper article in The Sunday Times of 7 December 1997 which highlighted the fact that four Derry paedophiles have moved to Cork in an effort to avoid the sex offenders register in the United Kingdom. The report has caused much concern and worry among parents who now know that convicted paedophiles are living in the community and there is no reassurance to parents that these people are being monitored or kept in check in any way.
The real worry and fear of parents must be understood. How can one of their sons or daughters carry on their daily lives with the prospect of at least four sex offenders moving freely and undetected around our city? This is a nightmare for parents.
The UK's sex offenders Act which came into force in September last compels sex offenders, whether convicted or released from prison, to notify the police where they are living and if they change address. As no such system exists here, they have a safe haven where they can avoid the police and walk our streets unknown to us. This situation must be rectified. I ask the Minister to proceed with the introduction of a sex offenders register immediately. Such a register should be made available to the Garda and those working in the area of social welfare, in an effort to address the vulnerability of our children in such situations.
The proposed register will not solve the problem of sex offenders as it addresses only part of the problem — those who have been convicted — but it would allay the worry of parents and the community about sex offenders moving from one jurisdiction without the relevant authorities being made so aware. That there are four reported sex offenders in Cork is extremely serious as these people support one another, thus compounding the problem. I urge the Minister to proceed immediately with the introduction of a sex offenders register here.
I support the call that a sex offenders register be introduced immediately. Among paedophiles, repeat offences run at an estimated rate of 90 per cent to 95 per cent, according to studies conducted in Britain. It makes a curative approach unrealistic. Containment and control is the appropriate policy in such circumstances. It needs to be combined with more effective co-operation among the agencies concerned and a long time preventive effort directed against child abuse which is so often the root cause of such behaviour. Everybody accepts that, among criminals, paedophiles are in a special category. Usually they are highly manipulative and clever and, often, their offending behaviour intensifies as they grow older. They are in a peculiarly dangerous category. A register is urgently needed.
One of the difficulties in dealing with paedophiles is that they do not consider their activities to be wrong. They believe the rest of us set unfair parameters on their sexual activity. They do not believe having sex with children is wrong. Many of them believe it is the right thing to do and that we are wrong to try to stop them. This makes them especially dangerous and that is why they are highly manipulative in their approach.
As Deputy Clune said, what we are proposing is not a panacea to prevent all sexual offences against children — no measure can achieve that — but it would be a significant step in helping the Garda Síochána to track down or determine the whereabouts of those who may be offending against children and ensure some control.
With regard to recent unconfirmed media reports that paedophiles from Northern Ireland have moved here, we understand from the Garda authorities that they have no evidence there is a particular problem in Cork. Nevertheless, the situation there is being carefully monitored. We acknowledge that the level of co-operation and exchange of information between the Garda Síochána and the police forces in the neighbouring jurisdictions is excellent. The notion that this country has become a safe haven for paedophiles is false and without foundation and I absolutely refute it.
As the Minister indicated, a discussion paper on sexual offences which is being prepared in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform will contain a detailed section on issues raised by the creation of a paedophile register. Its purpose will not be to take a particular stance on issues raised but to set out a number of related matters which will arise and to facilitate a constructive and informed debate which I hope will lead to an effective and workable solution. The Minister considers this is the best way to proceed, mainly because of the number and complexity of the issues which the question raises.
We need to look at the term "paedophile". It is frequently used and, as such, there may be an assumption that we all know what a paedophile is but the law and perception may diverge on the issue. Under our law governing sexual offences, the age of consent for the purpose of sexual relations is 17 years. Two 16 year olds involved in a sexual relationship may be in breach of the law but they are not paedophiles. If what we are talking about is a paedophile rather than a sex offenders' register, new definitions will have to be considered. That is not to say that those two 16 year olds or at least the male in this hypothetical case would necessarily be included on any sex offenders' register.
An issue which would have to be addressed in the context of a paedophile register is who should be included. It can only contain the names of convicted paedophiles but even that would have to be clarified. It cannot, by definition, contain the names of paedophiles who have not been convicted of a criminal offence, irrespective of how dangerous such people may be. It may be the case that convicted paedophiles make up a small proportion of the total paedophile population or the overall sex offender population.
Considerations such as these need to be borne in mind when considering the nature and scope of a paedophile register. It is likely that an offence-based approach will be required but a decision has to be taken on the types of offences to be deemed to be indicative of paedophilia. There will need to be an examination of whether the persistence of an individual's offending or the likelihood of reoffending ought to be a predeterminant of inclusion in such a register.
The foregoing merely serves to illustrate the complexities associated with the issues raised by the paedophile register. The register raises other difficult issues. For instance, for how long should names remain? Who should maintain it and who should have access?
For the reasons outlined, the Minister is convinced that the inclusion of the paedophile register in the discussion paper on sexual offences is the correct course of action because it will facilitate a thorough consideration of the complex issues involved and give interested individuals and groups an opportunity to convey their views. Work on the discussion paper is at an advanced stage.