The child protection committee established in the wake of the statutory rape crisis has met for the first time and appointed a chairman, the Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick East, Peter Power.
Fine Gael's justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe called for the committee to consider the introduction of a law similar to "Megan's Law" in the US, which provides local communities with information on known sexual offenders in their area.
It was "potentially problematic and it would require careful handling", but the UK was considering adapting the US law. "If such a law were enacted in the UK, Ireland would become a haven for such sex offenders and it would become all too easy for persons in Britain who had been convicted of sexual offences to migrate to Ireland, to our communities and our neighbourhoods," he said.
The committee will examine the fallout from the Supreme Court decision on statutory rape and report by November 30th.
Mr Power said one of the key questions was whether the Constitution was out of step with the public's expectations for child protection. They had to decide "if our Constitution, as now interpreted, provides better protection to the abuser or to the child".
He deplored the "seemingly unstoppable trend towards the premature sexualisation of young children in circumstances where their physical maturity outstrips their emotional maturity".
Labour's spokesman Brendan Howlin said that laws on sexual activities involving young people should be framed "rationally, not on a clumsy, 'one size fits all' basis".
