Middle-ranking gardaí to call for more measures against sex offenders

A call for further security measures against sex offenders is just one of 30 motions which will be debated at the 34th annual conference of the Associaton of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors.

The three-day event, which gets underway later in Gorey, Co. Wexford, will also see middle-ranking Gardaí discuss issues including pay, working conditions, discipline, equipment and law reform.

Delegates from the Roscommon / Longford branch are calling on the Justice Minister Alan Shatter to amend the Sex Offenders Act so that convicted sex offenders will be required to supply additional personal information, including photographs, to Gardaí.

The call comes as it took Gardaí five years to investigate what subsequently became known as the Roscommon abuse case, which resulted in a mother and father being jailed for incest, neglect and the sexual abuse of their children.

Separately, the Justice Minister will address the 2,000 delegates at the conference - the first since December's budget cutbacks, the announcement of station closures and the departure of officers under the public sector retirement scheme.

Among the other motions up for discussion are the Croke Park Agreement, calls for an increase in the number of armed gardaí and assurances that no more Garda stations will be closed.