26 march 2010

Dear Ed,

Information on the whereabouts of sex offenders in Ireland is not available to the public under the Freedom Of Information Act or any Act. For offenders, it gets even better; they may be fined only a maximum amount of €1900 or up to one year in prison if they fail to report their whereabouts only to the Gardai. The public is not entitled to any information from the police if a sex offender lives in their area or not.

At the end of November 2007, there were 1,077 sex offenders subject to the requirement of notifying the Gardai of their whereabouts, and also 113 sex offenders were being supervised by the Probation service. The list has grown apace since then. This requirement is also subject to the discretion of a judge imposing any kind if time limit. In this current climate of revelations within the Catholic Church regarding sex abuse, and everywhere else it manifests itself, this is unacceptable.

Other protections for abusers are everywhere as evidenced by Cardinal Brady's involvement in gagging orders forced on children; The popes letter in 2001 titled: 'Crimine Solicitationies,' where not only were victims being threatened with excommunication, but clergy themselves were threatened with the penalty.

Under Irish Law also, a sex abusers identity can only be revealed if the victim reveals theirs. This is also unacceptable. The Redress Act of Ireland set up to investigate those who were victims of Institutional abuse, goes even further with their gagging order: A penalty from €3000 or six months in jail to €25,000 or two years in jail. This is not only unacceptable but inexcusable.

The Law is meant to serve a measure of justice on the guilty and a measure on their victims. The laws in general regarding the crime of sexual abuse of both children and adults is and always was fatally flawed and equally immoral. There is much work to be done in this area and should have started yesteryear.

I want to also express my deepest thanks for your accurate coverage of our march under the banner of Fire and Ice on the 24 march 2010, which was the first step for me to bring this fight to some closure. That closure is not only for the victims of institutional abuse, but for victims of abuse wherever it is, and whatever form it manifests itself.

My commitment is driven by the fact that I spent ten years in an Industrial Prison and know what the trinity of abuse is. That is: The sexual, physical, and emotional rape of a child or an adult. The latter carries the sentence of a lifetime.

Yours faithfully

Barry Clifford

Email: barryclifford952@gmail.com

Ph: 0877511113 18 Carrowmannagh, Oughterard, Co. Galway

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