Connacht Tribune
Sex Offenders Register doesn’t actually exist
Convicted rapists who comply with the requirements of the Sex Offenders Act – by informing Gardaí of their address on release from prison – can stay anywhere they like and even leave the country without having to inform the authorities, so long as it’s for six days or less.
That’s what Galway District Court was told this week – when it was also informed that, while the term ‘Sex Offenders Register’ is commonly used, there is, in fact, no such register in Ireland.
Instead, Gardaí – who are already aware of the conviction because they prosecuted the case – have to rely on the offender presenting himself at his local station to ‘register’ in accordance with the requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 2001, once released from prison. Non-compliance can lead to prosecution.
The above matters came to light during a lengthy, contested hearing this week involving convicted rapist, Francis Sweeney (45), of 19 Liam Mellows Terrace, Bohermore, who denied a charge of failing to comply with the requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 2001 by not living at the address in Bohermore which he had given Gardaí on his release from prison in November 2013.
Sweeney was jailed for nine years in 2007 for the violent, multiple rapes and sexual assault of a young mother in her home in Galway city in 2004.
Detective Gerry Carroll told the hearing this week he had been assigned to monitor Sweeney on his release from prison in 2013, and had called to the Bohermore address, which Sweeney had provided to Gardaí, three to four times a year.
He said Sweeney had been living in a caravan, parked at the front of the family home in Bohermore for some time.
However, he said he became aware in December 2017 that a bench warrant had been issued for Sweeney’s arrest when he failed to appear before Galway Circuit Criminal Court to answer an unrelated charge of assault. He said he called to the house in Bohermore on January 3 last year but Sweeney was not there.
He confirmed Sweeney had been arrested at his partner’s address in Westside on November 14 last year.
Defence solicitor, Sean Acton, said Sweeney was adamant he had been living all along at 19 Liam Mellows Terrace with his brother, Anthony Sweeney.
He said Sweeney had notified Gardaí in 2015 that he was moving address, when he went to live for a time with his wife, and informed them again when he moved back home that same year to Liam Mellows Terrace.
“His obligation under the Sex Offenders Act is to inform you of his address, but he is under no obligation to answer the door to you or speak to you if you call to his address,” Mr Acton put to Det. Carroll.
Mr Acton said Sweeney had been living at the family home in Bohermore all along and had not answered the door when Det. Carroll called because he did not want to be arrested for the bench warrant.
The solicitor said Sweeney had been arrested at his wife’s address in Westside because he often spent ‘the odd night’ there as she suffered from cancer.
“The Act allows for that – for a person to stay not more than seven days – at an address other than that given to Gardaí,” Mr Acton explained.
Det. Sgt. Adrian O’Neill gave evidence he was responsible for the monitoring of people subject to the Sex Offenders Act in the Galway District and had assigned Det. Carroll to monitor Sweeney.
He explained that in accordance with the law, Sweeney would have to inform Gardaí if he spent seven days or more at a different address.
“There is no such thing as a Sex Offenders Register and Gardaí have to ensure compliance with the Act,” Mr Acton said.
Det. Sgt. O’Neill agreed, but added: “The onus is on the defendant to notify the Gardaí (of his address). There is no onus on the Gardaí.”
“He (Sweeney) can go to any address for six days and not have to notify you. He can go for six days here and six days there for an entire year,” Mr Acton said.
“He can even go to the Canaries if he wants and not notify us, so long as it’s for six days,” Det. Sgt. O’Neill replied.
Mrs Susan Sweeney said she had been battling cancer for the last ten years and her husband called to see her regularly now and often stayed over.
Judge Mary Fahy said she had a doubt and she dismissed the charge.
“The Act needs to be revised and the onus and obligations – for both defendants and Gardaí – need to be spelled out ‘in black and white’,” she said.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
