Sex Offenders Act 2001

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title and commencement.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

2. Interpretation (general).

2. —(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“Act of 1861” means the Offences against the Person Act, 1861;

“Act of 1908” means the Punishment of Incest Act, 1908;

“Act of 1935” means the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1935;

“Act of 1990” means the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990;

“Act of 1993” means the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, 1993;

F1["children detention school" has the same meaning as it has in section 3 of the Children Act 2001;]

F1["Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána;]

“conviction” (other than in sections 12, 22, 26(8) and 33) includes a finding of guilty but insane and “convicted” and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

“court” means any court exercising criminal jurisdiction and includes court-martial;

F2["imprisonment" includes detention in the Central Mental Hospital and "prison" shall be construed accordingly;]

“Minister” means the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;

F1["probation officer" means a person appointed by the Minister to be a probation officer;]

F1["Probation Service" means those officers of the Minister assigned to perform functions in the part of the Department of State for which the Minister is responsible, commonly known by that name;]

“remission from the sentence” means, in relation to the sentence imposed on a person, the remission which the person may earn from the sentence under the rules or practice whereby prisoners generally may earn remission of sentence by industry and good conduct;

“sentence” includes a sentence of imprisonment and any other order made by a court in dealing with a convicted person, including—

(a) an order under section 2(2) of the Trial of Lunatics Act, 1883, and

(b) an order postponing sentence;

“sexual offence” shall be construed in accordance with F2[ section 3;]

F1["vulnerable person" means a person, other than a child, whose capacity to guard himself or herself against violence, exploitation or abuse, whether physical, sexual or emotional, by another person is significantly impaired through—

(a) a physical disability, illness or injury,

(b) a disorder of the mind, whether as a result of mental illness or dementia, or

(c) an intellectual disability.]

(2) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a Part, section or Schedule is to a Part or section of, or a Schedule to, this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(b) a reference to a subsection or paragraph is to the subsection or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

(3) A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any enactment.

3. Sexual offences for purposes of Act.

3. —(1) Each of the offences referred to in the Schedule shall, subject to subsections (2) and (3), be a sexual offence for the purposes of this Act.

(2) An offence referred to in—

F3[(a)paragraph 2of theSchedule(sexual assault or indecent assault), other than an offence of sexual assault or indecent assault of a person who, at the time of the commission of the offence, wasF4[a vulnerable person],]

(b) paragraph 5 of the Schedule (incest by males),

(c) paragraph 6 of the Schedule (incest by females of or over 17 years of age), or

(d) paragraph 18, 19 or 20 of the Schedule in so far as it relates to an offence referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c),

shall not be a sexual offence for the purposes of this Act if—

(i) the victim of or, as the case may be, the other party to the offence was aged, at the date of the offence's commission, 17 years or more, and

F3[(ii) the person guilty of the offence—

(I) is, for the time being, the subject of an order of the court remanding him or her on bail or in custody pending the passing of sentence, or

(II) has not, in respect of the offence, been sentenced to any punishment involving deprivation of liberty for a limited or unlimited period of time or been made subject to any measure involving such deprivation of liberty.]

(3) An offence referred to in—

(a) paragraph 8 of the Schedule (defilement of girl between 15 and 17 years of age),

(b) paragraph 11 of the Schedule (buggery of persons under 17 years of age),

(c) paragraph 12 of the Schedule (gross indecency with males under 17 years of age), or

(d) paragraph 18, 19 or 20 of the Schedule in so far as it relates to an offence referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c),

shall not be a sexual offence for the purposes of this Act if—

(i) the victim of or, as the case may be, the other party to the offence was aged, at the date of the offence's commission, 15 years or more but less than 17 years, and

(ii) the person guilty of the offence was aged, at that date, not more than 3 years older than that victim or other party.

F5[(4)F6[…]]

3A. F7[Application of amendments made by Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023

3A.—(1) An amendment of this Act made by the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023 shall apply in respect of—

(a) persons who are convicted—

(i) of a sexual offence, or

(ii) in a place outside the State, of an offence, and the act constituting that offence would, if done in the State, constitute a sexual offence under the law of the State,

whether the person is so convicted before or after the coming into operation of the amendment,

(b) sex offender orders (within the meaning ofPart 3), whether made before or after the coming into operation of the amendment, and

(c) sentences involving post-release supervision (within the meaning ofPart 5), whether imposed before or after the coming into operation of the amendment.

(2) Any legal proceedings (civil or criminal) in respect of a right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under, or an offence against or contravention of, a relevant provision of this Act before the date of the coming into operation of section 5 of the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023 may, on or after that date, be instituted, continued or enforced, and any penalty, forfeiture or punishment in respect of such offence or contravention may be imposed and carried out, as if the said provision had not been amended by the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023.

(3) In this section, "relevant provision of this Act" means a provision of this Act that is amended by the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023.]

4. Regulations.

4. —(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing any matter or thing which is referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed or for the purpose of enabling any provision of this Act to have full effect.

(2) Every regulation F8[under this Act] shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

5. Expenses.

5. —The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART 2 Obligations of Sex Offenders to Notify Certain Information

6. “relevant date”.

6. —In this Part, “relevant date” means the date of conviction for the sexual offence concerned.

7. Persons subject to the requirements of this Part.

7. —(1) Without prejudice to subsection (2) and section 13 and 16(7), a person is subject to the requirements of this Part if he or she is convicted of a sexual offence after the commencement of this Part.

(2) A person is also subject to the requirements of this Part if he or she has been convicted of a sexual offence before the commencement of this Part and, at that commencement, either—

(a) the sentence to be imposed on the person in respect of the offence has yet to be determined, or

(b) a sentence has been imposed on the person in respect of the offence and—

(i) the person is serving the sentence in prison,

(ii) the person is temporarily released under section 2 or 3 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1960, or

(iii) the sentence is otherwise still in force or current.

8. Period for which person is subject to requirements of this Part and related matters.

8. —(1) A person who, by reason of section 7, is subject to the requirements of this Part shall be so subject for the period referred to F9[insubsection (3)or specified by the court pursuant tosubsection (4), as the case may be,] or, in the case of a person referred to in section 7(2), so much (if any) of that period as falls after the commencement of this Part.

(2) Subsection (1) is subject to section 11.

(3) The period mentioned in subsection (1) is the period, beginning with the relevant date, of—

(a) an indefinite duration if the sentence imposed on the person in respect of the offence concerned is one of imprisonment for life or for a term of more than 2 years,

(b) 10 years if the sentence imposed on the person in respect of the offence concerned is one of imprisonment for a term of more than 6 months but not more than 2 years,

(c) 7 years if the sentence imposed on the person in respect of the offence concerned is one of imprisonment for a term of 6 months or less, or

(d) 5 years if the sentence imposed on the person—

(i) is one of imprisonment for any term, the operation of the whole of which is suspended (but, if the operation of that term is revived by the court, whichever of the preceding paragraphs is appropriate shall apply instead of this subparagraph), or

(ii) is otherwise than one of imprisonment.

F9[(4) If—

(a) a sentence is imposed on a person in respect of a sexual offence, and

(b) at the time of the commission of the offence concerned, the person was aged under 18 years,

the court shall, in imposing the sentence, specify the period for which the person shall be subject to the requirements of this Part, which period shall not exceed 5 years, having regard to—

(i) the nature and circumstances of the offence concerned, and

(ii) the degree of risk, if any, that the offender may commit a subsequent sexual offence.]

(5) If a sentence of imprisonment for any term is imposed on the person referred to in subsection (1) in respect of the offence concerned and the operation of a part of that term is suspended—

(a) the part of that term the operation of which is not suspended shall be regarded as the term of imprisonment imposed on that person for the purposes of subsection (3) (but, if the operation of the first-mentioned part of that term is revived by the court, whichever of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (3) is appropriate shall apply without regard to this paragraph),

(b) the preceding paragraph extends to a case in which that suspension is provided for subsequent to the imposition of the sentence.

(6) If a person is or has been sentenced in respect of 2 or more sexual offences and the sentences imposed are consecutive or partly concurrent then subsection (3) shall have effect as if—

(a) in the case of consecutive sentences, the sentence imposed in respect of each of the offences were or had been a sentence equal to the aggregate of those sentences,

(b) in the case of partly concurrent sentences, the sentence imposed in respect of each of the offences were or had been a sentence equal to the aggregate of those sentences after making such deduction as is necessary to ensure that no period of time is counted more than once.

(7) Without prejudice to section 11, a person shall cease to be subject to the requirements of this Part if the conviction in respect of the offence concerned is quashed on appeal or otherwise.

(8) A reference in this section to a sentence imposed on a person shall, if the sentence is varied on appeal, be construed as a reference to the sentence as so varied and, accordingly, the period for which a person is subject to the requirements of this Part, by reason of this section, shall stand reduced or increased, as the case may be, in the event that such a variation is made which results in the sentence falling into a different paragraph of subsection (3) than it did before the variation.

9. Supply of information to facilitate compliance with this Part.

9. —The person for the time being in charge of the place where a person subject to the requirements of this Part is ordered to be imprisoned in respect of an offence (whether or not the offence that gave rise to the person's being subject to those requirements) shall notify in writing—

(a) before the date on which the sentence of imprisonment imposed on the person in respect of the first-mentioned offence expires or, as the case may be, the person's remission from the sentence begins (“the date of release”), the person that he or she is subject to the requirements of this Part, and

(b) at least 10 days before the date of release, the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána of the fact that that expiry or remission will occur in relation to the person.

10. Notification requirements.

10. —(1) A person who is subject to the requirements of this Part shall, before the end of the period of F10[3 days] beginning with the relevant date, or, if that date is prior to the commencement of this Part, that commencement, notify to the Garda Síochána—

F10[(a) his or her name on the date on which the notification is given,]

F11[(aa) where he or she also uses, or at any time previously used, one or more other names, each of those names, and]

(b) his or her F10[home address on the date on which the notification is given].

(2) A person who is subject to those requirements shall also, before the end of the period of F10[3 days] beginning with—

(a) the person's using a name which is not the name, or one of the names, last previously notified by him or her to the Garda Síochána under this section,

(b) any change of his or her home address,

(c) the person's having resided or stayed, for a qualifying period, at any place in the State, the address of which has not been notified to the Garda Síochána under this section as being his or her current home address, or

(d) the person's returning to an address F10[in the State on a date other than that notified undersubsection (3)(c)], having, immediately prior to such return, been outside the State for a continuous period of F10[3 days] or more,

notify that name, the effect of that change, the address of that place or, as the case may be, F10[the fact of that return and the address to which the person has returned] to the Garda Síochána.

F12[(3) If a person who is subject to the requirements of this Part intends to leave the State for a continuous period of 3 days or more, he or she shall notify the Garda Síochána of—

(a) that intention,

(b) the address of each place outside the State at which he or she intends to reside or stay, and

(c) the date on which he or she intends to return to the State.]

(4) If a person who is subject to the requirements of this Part is outside the State for a continuous period of F12[3 days] or more and did not intend, on leaving the State, to be outside the State for such a continuous period, the person shall, subject to subsection (5), notify the Garda Síochána, before the expiry of a further period of F12[3 days], reckoned from the F12[3rd day] that he or she is so outside the State, of that fact and the address of the place at which he or she is residing or staying outside the State.

F11[(4A) A person may give a notification undersubsection (4)—

(a) by sending, by post, a written notification of the matters concerned to any Garda Síochána station which is a divisional headquarters or which has been designated by the Commissioner for the purposes of this section, or

(b) by such other means as may be prescribed.]

(5) Subsection (4) shall not apply if the person concerned has returned to the State before the expiry of the further period of F12[3 days] mentioned in that subsection.

(6) A notification given to the Garda Síochána by any person shall not be regarded as complying with subsection (1), (2), (3) or (4) unless it also states the person's—

(a) date of birth,

(b) name on the relevant date and, where he or she used one or more other names on that date, each of those names, and

(c) home address on the relevant date.

F11[(6A) Without prejudice tosubsections (1), (2), (3)and(4), a person who is subject to the requirements of this Part shall notify the Garda Síochána of the matters specified inparagraphs (a), (aa)and(b)ofsubsection (1)andparagraphs (a), (b)and(c)ofsubsection (6)—

(a) not later than 3 days after the coming into operation of section 8 (g) of the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023,

(b) where the person gives a notification undersubsection (1), (2), (3)or(4)and does not give another such notification in the 12 month period thereafter, not later than 7 days after the end of that 12 month period, and

(c) where a person has not given a notification undersubsection (1), (2), (3)or(4)in the 12 month period after the giving of a notification underparagraph (a)or(b), not later than 7 days after the end of that 12 month period.]