John O'Donoghue
Ceist:5 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice the number of sex offenders in prison who have been convicted of more than one offence of a sexual nature; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16523/95]
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sexual Offences Convictions.
I am not clear as to the precise information sought by the Deputy. In some cases, offenders may be convicted and sentenced at a single court sitting, of a number of offences against one or more persons, occurring, perhaps, over a period of years; this can happen, for example, where paedophile crime is involved. There can also, of course, be convictions for more than one sexual offence in the course of a single assault incident on one individual.
It may be that what the Deputy is looking for is not the number of offences in respect of which current sentences are being served by individual prisoners, but an indication, in the case of sex offenders now in prison, of the number of them who had convictions for sexual offences in the past. The information available to the prison authorities suggests that the proportion of offenders in this cetegory is quite small.
I will endeavour to supply whatever statistics the Deputy seeks, but I have to explain that it may take time to extract the precise information sought. This is because information on individual prisoners is maintained on their individual files and accessed by staff who need relevant details.
By and large, detailed statistical information would fall to be compiled on the group as a whole only if it were considered useful by the professional staff dealing with these offenders.
I have acknowledged in the past, of course, the need for more comprehensive statistics in the criminal justice area as a whole and I am glad that work is already under way in this regard. The position is that the prisoner record system which has not been in place for a number of years is currently being reviewed to ensure that it will, in future, be able to compile, collate and make available statistics relevant to the prison system.
It is extremely disappointing and frustrating, whenever questions are tabled in relation to statistics for the prison system, that often the Minister is unable to reply. I put it to the Minister that sometimes — and perhaps often — recidivism among paedophiles can be high. In this context will she accept that handling down a prison sentence of a period of years, while the Minister may not allow an early release in such cases, means that at the end of the sentence the individual concerned, even though he may be likely to reoffend, must be released? This problem must be resolved immediately and one does not have to study case law in great depth to understand and implement that objective.
On the question of statistics, I have openly admitted in this House that I am not satisfied with the way in which I can answer such questions. It is not today or yesterday that work should have been done on creating a system from which we can draw down statistics more easily. Our courts, prisons and Garda stations are only now being brought up to date in computer systems. Over the coming years that will make it easier to extract information more speedily. I had another difficulty in that Deputy O'Donoghue's question was not clear. I was not sure of what he wanted. However, I can inform him that 226 prisoners are serving sentences for sex related offences but I cannot say whether some had previous convictions.
The Minister has not answered the second part of my question. Perhaps she will address it and when doing so to address, also, the following? Her colleague, the Minister of State Deputy Currie, has made it clear that the number of allegations of sexual offences against children has increased dramatically in recent years. Therefore, it behoves the Minister for Justice to introduce legislation which will adequately address a growing problem in Irish society, possibly related to drugs. She must, as a matter of necessity, introduce penalties which the courts can impose and which will adequately fit the horrific type of offences to which I am referring.
The second part of the Deputy's earlier question, as I understood it, was more of a statement than a question. It related to what can be done with people who have completed their sentence and whether there is any way in which they can be detained further. We are back to the idea of mandatory sentencing. A sentence of life imprisonment for a sexual offender is allowable under our laws. The Criminal Law (Rape) Act, 1981, amended our laws very considerably. Earlier this year I introduced the Incest Act to ensure the 1908 Act was amended. If an offender gets a life sentence and a future Minister is inclined to release that person, it means that controls and conditions can be imposed on that release for the rest of his life. I understand from the Department of Health and the Garda that many cases of sex offences against children are being investigated. I assure the Deputy that our laws are already very stringent in this regard. If any breach in the law comes to light I will fill it as I did earlier this year in relation to the incest laws I corrected it immediately.
In relation to possible measures to deal with the problem of sexual offenders reoffending, will she consider the present situation whereby every offender automatically qualifies for a 25 per cent remission of sentence? Would it be appropriate in the case of serious sexual offences that the automatic 25 per cent remission should not apply, particularly where it is clear from those working with the offender that there is a danger that the person would reoffend?
The remission is not automatic, but the point raised by the Deputy is valid. The position is that people who commit these awful offences are not treated the same way as other prisoners and they serve to the last day. There is also a school of thought that says if they serve the whole sentence they should walk out of the prison without any conditions or controls being imposed on them. Some advisers and experts say it is better to have a period where people are resocialising to ascertain whether they will behave. I am examining a number of measures available in other jurisdictions to monitor people who have committed these awful crimes. The fact is that people are frightened as they will return to the communities where they committed the crimes. The measures that work in other jurisdictions are electronic tagging and proper registering of where people will live after leaving prison — that that information will be available to the Garda.
Given that preventive detention per se is not allowable under law, the only effective form of preventive detention in paedophile cases where people are likely to reoffend is a mandatory life sentence. This is the only way an individual who is released can be monitored by the Department's experts. This could not be done in the case of a person who has served a determinate sentence. Given the increase in the number of these offences, the Minister must as a matter of urgency introduce mandatory life sentencing in horrific cases of child sexual abuse.
Life sentences are available for many of these offences and I hope judges will continue to impose them. The issue of guilty pleas is of particular concern. I urge the Deputy to await the report of the Law Reform Commission on mandatory life sentences. There may well be very good reasons for the introduction of mandatory life sentences in specific serious cases but no previous Government or Minister has gone down this road given the difficulties involved. A person who receives a life sentence can be controlled for the rest of his life and monitored if he is given early release after 11 or 15 years, the usual length of the sentence.