More than 800 abusers on Register of Sex Offenders since 2001

Sexual offending is “a very serious problem”, Minister for Children Brian Lenihan tells the NOTA conference. Caroline O’Doherty reports.

MORE than 800 sex abusers have been put on the Register of Sex Offenders since the list was first drawn up four years ago.

A further 270 offenders currently serving time in prison for sex crimes will also have their names added to the register when they complete their sentences.

Minister for Children Brian Lenihan said sexual offending was "clearly a very serious problem" and admitted that services to treat abusers and reduce the risk of re-offending fell far short of what was required to address it.

Mr Lenihan told the international NOTA (National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers) conference in Dublin yesterday he wanted to meet representatives of the organisation in the coming weeks to discuss the shortcomings.

NOTA's Irish chairwoman, Rhonda Turner, said they would gladly take up the offer. The group has highlighted the scarcity of treatment options for adult offenders, particularly those who are not referred by the prison authorities and can not afford private services. "Ireland has a way to go," Ms Turner said.

The Minister stressed that legislation to improve controls on sexual offenders had tightened up considerably in recent years.

Since the Sex Offenders Act 2001 established the Register of Sex Offenders in September that year, 820 convicted offenders had been registered and made legally responsible for notifying the Gardaí of any change of address while 164 offenders were under direct supervision orders administered by the Probation and Welfare Service.

Mr Lenihan added, however, that laws were not enough. "When we are talking about offending, one of the greatest problems is the tendency of offenders to re-offend and clearly to tackle that, to see how offenders can be rehabilitated and the public protected and warning signs recognised are all valid issues.

"There has to be a process of intervening in another way for the convicted and non-convicted intervention programmes both in prison and community."

Mr Lenihan said the Department of Justice and Probation and Welfare Service were looking at all options aimed at increasing the number of offenders receiving treatment.

The Health Service Executive had also set up a steering group on the development of services after a survey of 29 therapeutic facilities found 23 of them were dealing with juvenile sex offenders and 21 said juvenile offenders were an expanding area of their work.

"Sexual abuse is clearly a very serious problem requiring a response from a number of departments, primarily the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Children," Mr Lenihan said. "I would not like you to get the impression that we have an ideal situation here. Far from it."

A report on the sex offenders treatment programme in prisons commissioned by the Government in 1999 found prisoners who underwent treatment were assessed as less likely to re-offend.

The full findings were never published but Mr Lenihan said the report was still being considered by the Department of Justice and would be released "in the near future."