Minister for Children Brian Lenihan has said he does not believe the State is a "safe haven" for sex offenders from other jurisdictions.
The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) said yesterday it was worried that the imposition of more stringent requirements on convicted sex offenders in Northern Ireland and Britain could encourage such individuals to move to the Republic.
ISPCC chief executive Paul Gilligan expressed concern after it emerged that Paul Hunter Redpath, a Scottish man convicted of sex offences against two girls and who breached the terms of his probation by failing to return to accommodation in Northern Ireland, had turned up in the Republic.
Mr Gilligan said the Sex Offenders Act had never been designed to deal with somebody who had absconded from the probation system in another jurisdiction.
He also said the system in the UK for dealing with sex offenders had been tightened up in recent times and that reporting requirements were more stringent there than in the Republic.
Mr Gilligan questioned whether gardaí would be able to secure a sexual offender's order in the courts if the offence in question had taken place in another jurisdiction. Under such orders a sex offender cannot engage in specific activities.
However, Mr Lenihan said last night that he would dispute the suggestion that the Republic could be seen as a safe haven for those convicted of sex offences abroad. "I do not think that the sighting of a particular sex offender who moved to Ireland supports such an inference," he said.
Mr Lenihan said there was great co-operation in intelligence matters between the Garda and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.He said that if gardaí wanted to seek a sex offender's order in the courts with regard to someone with a conviction in the North or in Britain, there was nothing to preclude them from bringing police officers from outside the jurisdiction to give evidence.
Mr Lenihan also said sex offenders with a conviction abroad were legally obliged to report to the Garda on arrival in the jurisdiction.
He said that when such individuals reported to the Garda, the details of their conviction would be recorded. This information would therefore be available to those carrying out vetting for particular employments. Mr Lenihan said he accepted that historically the Republic was coming from a low base with regard to legislation governing sex offenders, but it was "catching up fast".
He also accepted that under current legislation only "hard information" in relation to convictions or prosecutions could be released during the vetting process.
Soft information, for example details on investigations that did not reach the prosecution stage, can be used in the UK.
Mr Lenihan said new vetting legislation was currently being prepared. However, he said that the use of soft information here could pose significant legal issues.
"The issue of soft information is being considered in the context of this new legislation. However, I am not in a position to state whether or how this will feature in any published Bill, as the Government must first consider the matter," he said.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern yesterday insisted Redpath was not being "harboured" in the Republic while evading justice.
Speaking on a visit to Ballymena, Co Antrim, Mr Ahern said the issue highlighted the need for close co-operation between Dublin and Belfast to ensure that the Border was not being exploited by criminals.