Urgent action is needed to protect children from sex offenders who cross the Border, the North's Assembly heard yesterday.
While two lists of sex offenders existed in the North, List 99 and PECS, there were no equivalent registers in the Republic, according to SDLP MLA Ms Patricia Lewsley, whose motion calling on ministers to improve vetting procedures for those working with children was passed.
"One of the weakest aspects of the operation of our current system . . . is that unscrupulous individuals who were listed on List 99 or PECS would seek to move across the Border where no such checks are carried out," she said.
Organisations in the North may also be putting children at risk by assuming staff from the South had undergone similar vetting to their Northern counterparts, she said.
The PECS (Pre-Employment Consultancy Service) register contains the names of people reported to the Northern Department of Health by their employers because of potentially harmful behaviour towards children or adults with a learning disability. People may be included on the register for all forms of abuse, including sex abuse, violent abuse and drug-related matters. List 99 is a UK-wide register of people legally debarred from working in schools.