The Sexual Offenders Act, which was signed into law on Saturday, will allow for the introduction of a sex offender register within months, the Minister of State for Justice, Ms Mary Wallace, said yesterday.
Ms Wallace was speaking at the graduation of 119 gardai at the Training College in Templemore, Co Tipperary.
She said the register would oblige sex offenders to notify gardai of their names and addresses. Failure to notify could result in a fine of up to £1,500 and/or 12 months' imprisonment. It would also apply when offenders travelled abroad and when sex offenders from other jurisdictions entered the State.
"This notification obligation will, in itself, act as a disincentive to further offending, but it will also be of assistance to the Garda Siochana when carrying out their functions of preventing and investigating sexual crimes."
Ms Wallace said the register would have a confidential aspect and would be operated on a need-to-know basis in the community. A school principal, social worker or youth club leader might be informed of the presence of a former offender in the vicinity if that person's behaviour gave cause for concern.
A Department spokesman added that the operation of the register was not specified in the legislation. It would be administered by the Garda in consultation with the Probation and Welfare Service, which was currently compiling a list of past offenders.
He said the register would be added to as sex offenders finished jail sentences.
The Act also makes it an offence for sex offenders to apply for work or a voluntary post without informing the employer of their convictions when the position would give unsupervised access to children.