A state solicitor has claimed that a measure aimed at tracking paedophiles and other sex offenders isn’t working effectively.Ciaran Liddy hit out at inadequacies in the sex offenders’ register which is intended to track the movements of convicted paedophiles.
Mr Liddy, State Solicitor for Donegal, said: “It doesn’t appear to be as effective as the legislators had in mind. A lot of this is due to the bureaucracy and lack of funding for a central data base so local gardai can track perpetrators. There seems to be a breakdown in communication between different departments such as the gardai and the Courts Service.
In attempting to try to track the movements of individuals, a lot of the times it comes down to local individuals carrying out inquiries on a local basis. Responsibility for tracking these people should not be left to local individuals.
It’s something that should be hugely supported by the Oireachtas as regards putting in place a proper, organised system which is backed fully financially so offenders can be properly traced and tracked at any time during the course of their movements throughout the Republic.”
Mr Liddy, who took up his post last year after working in the Dublin headquarters of the Director of Public Prosecutions, said in a weekend discussion on Ocean FM radio in Sligo that not enough recognition is given to representations by solicitors and barristers who present prosecutions in the courts on behalf of the state.
In a rare public declaration by a prosecutor, he said: “The opinions of the people who actually carry out day-to-day prosecutions such as myself, unfortunately, are very seldom sought.”
He added that the 32 State solicitors gather every year to discuss problems they feel have not been adequately dealt with by legislation.
Similar talks are held by barristers who prosecute on behalf of the State.
Liddy, at 31, the youngest State Solicitor in the country said: “We highlight difficulties we perceive to exist in the criminal law system. However, what cognisance is taken by the Government is anybody’s guess.
“Not enough cognisance is taken. There is not enough feedback sought. There are a lot of issues any State solicitor would like to see addressed on a more expansive, probing basis. We don’t have an opportunity to provide them to the people who need to hear them.”
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