The British and Irish governments have agreed a new protocol to track sex offenders who may attempt to evade detection by travelling out of their jurisdictions in the Republic, Northern Ireland and Britain.
Under this agreement, police forces on the two islands will share and impart information on all sex offenders who plan to travel between Britain and Ireland.
The British-Irish memorandum of understanding was signed yesterday in Belfast by British home office minister Vernon Coaker and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.
The initiative comes in the wake of the controversy generated by sex offender Paul Hunter Redpath breaking his probation conditions by moving from Northern Ireland to the Republic, where he could not be arrested.
The North's criminal justice minister, David Hanson, who was at yesterday's signing, said the memorandum would address such cases.
"The sharing of information on sex offenders will ensure that police forces notify colleagues in other jurisdictions, promptly and effectively and as a matter of course, when they are aware that a convicted sex offender who is subject to notification requirements is planning to travel to another jurisdiction.
"The signing of the memorandum also gives a clear signal to those who would attempt to exploit national boundaries that both governments speak with one voice. There is to be no hiding place for those who have offended in this way and seek to do so again by travelling between jurisdictions and flouting the law."
Mr McDowell said the initiative demonstrated the determination of the Government to put arrangements in place to ensure that the police know the whereabouts of registered sex offenders in Britain and Ireland, even when they left their own country.
"While the Garda Síochána and UK police forces have been exchanging this information for some time, this memorandum of understanding will put arrangements on a formal footing," he added. "I am confident that our police forces will use this memorandum to ensure the safety of people in our countries."
The memorandum follows on continuing North-South co-operation on criminal justice matters.
Under the agreement, a registered sex offender advisory group was established consisting of representatives of the Garda, the PSNI, the Department of Justice and the Northern Ireland Office. The group will evaluate the potential for sharing information, examine the registration criteria in both jurisdictions for sex offenders and identify areas for further co-operation.
The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children welcomed the new measures.
However, chief executive Paul Gilligan said it was difficult to see how the new system would work in relation to a sex offender who decided not to inform the authorities of their address here or in the North when they moved between the jurisdictions.
