Senator Jillian van Turnhout
In light of recent cases highlighting the alarming and disturbing volume of child abuse material circulating within this jurisdiction, to ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence to outline his Department’s progress towards transposing Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and to confirm that blocking of child abuse material will form part of the anticipated Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill.
OPENING REMARKS BY Minister Kathleen Lynch on behalf of ALAN SHATTER, TD, MINISTER FOR JUSTICE, EQUALITY AND DEFENCE
On behalf of Mr. Alan Shatter, T.D., Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, I would like to thank the Senator for raising this most important and sensitive matter. The Minister recalls a very useful debate in this House almost a year ago when Senator van Turnhout last raised this topic.
The Senator seeks an update on the progress being made in transposing Directive 2011/92/EU. I have only a limited time available to me but the Minister wanted to address an impression that may be conveyed by the opening lines of the motion. They suggest there is a very large quantity of child abuse material in circulation. Of course, any quantity is too much but the suggestion of large quantities is at variance with recent reports from Hotline.ie. Its’ most recent annual report for 2011 indicated that the level of validated reports of illegal content remains modest, and the Minister understands this continues to be the case.
We can be thankful that increased vigilance and surveillance has meant that the circulation of child abuse imagery is nowadays less overtly visible on the internet. There is, therefore, less likelihood of the inadvertent viewing of such material by the general public. However, it is well known that there are levels of circulation of such material which are not amenable to surveillance but those involved are subject to regular targeting by crime prevention agencies including the Gardaí.
Turning now to the question of the Directive, the deadline for transposition is 18 December 2013. The Minister’s Department has been conducting a review of the law on sexual offences, generally. This includes an examination of the measures required to implement a number of international legal instruments, one of those being the EU Directive. This work is close to completion and the Minister expects to bring a draft General Scheme to Government shortly for approval to have the necessary legislation drafted. The Senator will appreciate that until they are considered by the Government, the Minister is constrained in what he can say concerning the precise content of the proposals. However, the Minister can say that this will be wide-ranging legislation to implement the recommendations of two Oireachtas committees, facilitate full compliance with the criminal law provisions of relevant EU, UN and Council of Europe instruments, reform the Sex Offenders Act 2001, and enhance the protection of children against sexual exploitation, including child pornography.
In relation to the specific issue of blocking of websites containing child pornography in accordance with Article 25, paragraph (2) of the Directive, the Minister can inform the House that his officials are engaged in discussions with representatives of the internet service providers and with the Gardaí on this matter. These are, of course, the key players in implementing any arrangement to give effect to that paragraph. The Minister knows they are fully committed to doing whatever is required to prevent the internet being used for the viewing and distribution of child pornography. However, there is still some way to go in the current discussions. He is therefore not in a position at this time to say definitively what measures will be put in place or the form of those measures.
As the Minister said the last time that the Senate debated this issue, the internet is a global phenomenon with no single organisation controlling it. International cooperation is therefore vital in combating illegal activities, particularly in view of the rapid rate of technological innovation. The Minister is pleased, therefore, to say that Ireland is one of forty-eight countries which have signed the Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online which was launched in December 2012. This is a joint EU and US initiative and it aims to reduce as much as possible the availability of child pornography online. This is an example of how the international community can marshal its resources to defeat this heinous business.
I look forward to hearing from Senators and will be paying close attention on behalf of the Minister to their views and opinions.