A chara, - The register of sex offenders, as announced, is a purposeful safeguard. However, much remains to be done in the overall project, which is to enhance public safety through the effective management of sex offenders.
Cogent proposals on their management were eventually published in July 1993 by the then Minister for Justice, Mrs Geoghegan-Quinn, and have been in existence since. The proposals were for behaviour programmes based in prisons and behaviour programmes based in the community. The latter were for sex offenders, who received sentences of the court other than imprisonment and for offenders after release from prison.
Remarkably, and at some risk to the community, the proposals have been implemented slowly and only in part. Even yet there is only one prison programme (Arbor Hill) in existence with one further programme in planning (Curragh Prison). The Department of Justice has no programme in the community and has no known plans to implement one. Nor has it plans for similar programmes in other prisoners where sex offenders are clustered.
A register of sex offenders offers some protection. But a substantial requirement for public safety is that more sex offender programmes of competence and rigour are delivered to more sex offenders in prisons and in the community. The Probation and Welfare Branch have been earnestly and publicly committed to that development for a decade and a half. It is also critical that it is officers of the court, with the necessary repertoire of skills and expertise, who undertake this work.
The Probation and Welfare Branch urges the respective Ministers for Finance and Justice to fund the development of the apposite agencies - Psychological Service of the Department of Justice and the Probation and Welfare Services - to carry out their important duties in this and other areas. - Yours, etc.,
Patrick O'Dea, PRO, Probation & Welfare Branch, IMPACT, Finglas, Dublin 11.