Sex offenders breaching release rules

There has been an almost fourfold increase in the number of sex offenders breaching release conditions, prompting claims the issue is “spiralling out of control”.

Department of Justice figures show 61 offenders were prosecuted in 2011 for failing to comply with the conditions of their release, compared to 16 people in 2008 — a nearly four-fold rise or increase of 280%.

The statistics, released to Fine Gael’s Denis Naughten, showed there had been 33 cases in the first six months of this year.