RANK-AND-FILE gardaí want legislative changes that would legally oblige foreign nationals with criminal records to register with gardaí on arrival in the State.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents more than 11,000 gardaí, has also called for more immigration officers to operate the proposed registry system.
It believes a small team of full-time immigration officers would be needed in every Garda division if foreign criminals were to be properly monitored and the accuracy of their identities and declared criminal records checked with the authorities in their home countries.
Garda Pat Sullivan (Cork West Garda division) told delegates at the closing session of the association's annual conference in Tullow, Co Carlow, that foreign criminals were taking advantage of Ireland's lax controls.
He said in recent times a group of foreign nationals had been arrested on suspicion of skimming ATM cards using illegal electronic skimming devices.
"It was only when they were arrested that we realised they were not documented, and had no papers at all despite the fact they'd been in the State for some time."
Some foreign criminals were so confident of moving around the State to commit crime that cases had emerged of gangs travelling by train from Dublin to Cork and Kerry, skimming identities from ATMs throughout the day, and returning to Dublin by train at night.
He knew of other cases where paedophiles convicted abroad had entered the State and had not registered with gardaí.
He said under current legislation criminals could choose not to register with gardaí. Legislation should be changed to compel them to register. "We should know where they are living at every stage while they're living here."
Under current laws sex offenders convicted in Ireland can be placed on the sex offenders' register. Irish people resident here but convicted of a sexual offence abroad are obliged by law to declare their conviction to gardaí on their return to Ireland. Foreign sex offenders must also declare a sexual conviction recorded abroad when they arrive in Ireland.
However, there are no laws compelling foreign nationals to declare foreign convictions, other than for sexual offences, when they arrive in the State.
Garda Sullivan said once the legislation was changed to rectify this situation a full-time dedicated immigration officer would be needed in each Garda district. These would run the register, liaise with gardaí in their areas about the movement of criminals and work with foreign police forces to check the accuracy of the offenders' declared records.
"We have part-time officers but in a division like my own in Cork west there are no full-time personnel when really you would need five ."
While Dublin was well served by the Garda National Immigration Bureau based in the city the shortage of full-time immigration gardaí was acute in rural areas despite many towns having significant numbers of foreign nationals living there.
