Sex offenders should get proper treatment

THE suspension of the sex offenders programme at Arbour Hill Prison is a backward step in the prison service.

The programme may be of little significance to some people, but it was a major help to those who needed it most. For years I have been calling for a better rehabilitation programme for sex offenders, particularly during my time as chairman of the South Cork Health Committee of the Southern Health Board.

As a result of the many sexual assaults we hear about every day, the time has come for the Minister for Justice to introduce a comprehensive programme run by trained personnel to deal with the problem of sex offenders and to set up fully equipped and staffed treatment units to aid rehabilitation.

Some people may feel my proposal should be directed to the Department of Health, but the problem is one for the Department of Justice.

There seems to be little point in sending sex offenders to prisons which are not designed or equipped to deal with their problems. More often than not, they will repeat the offence after release.

The Department of Justice will tell you, as they told me, that these people get individual attention from social workers. That, in my opinion, does not constitute proper treatment.

From experience I know some people resent the proposal for the provision of rehabilitation and treatment units for sex offenders and admonish with therebuke: “Lock them up and throw away the key.”

With every problem, this one included, you must get to the source, treat it and, hopefully, eliminate it.

This is yet another social problem that Ireland must face. It is no good sweeping it under the carpet. If this is to be our policy, then the problem will remain. The vulnerable people in society will suffer and the offenders will be left without treatment behind prison bars.

Cllr Noel Collins

‘St Jude’s’

Midleton

Co Cork