Seeking to track sex offenders poses human rights questions
The idea of electronic tagging for sex offenders is not a new one. It was considered by the Department of Justice in 2009 in relation to the Discussion Document on the Management of Sex Offenders, and continued to gain political interest in the following years, up to the recent announcement that new legislation will make provision for this perceived shortcoming in our law.
Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald, when she was justice minister, declared her intention to make electronic tagging part of a revamp of the law relating to the monitoring of sex offenders, which is currently dealt with under the Sex Offenders Act 2001. The Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2016 also proposes to change the period for notifying the gardaí from seven days to three.
