<p>
	Gardai will be able to disclose information about high-risk sex offenders to parents &ndash; if a child is in danger &ndash; under legislation due before the Dail shortly.</p>
<p>
	The proposed legislation is modelled on Sarah&#39;s Law, enacted in the UK following the murder of seven-year-old Sarah Payne in 2000 at the hands of a convicted sex offender.</p>
<p>
	In an opinion piece in today&#39;s Irish Independent, Roscommon-Leitrim Independent TD Denis Naughten &ndash; who has put forward the bill &ndash; warned that we need to act to avoid a tragedy like the murder of Sarah Payne happening to an Irish girl.</p>
<p>
	The Child Sex Offenders Information and Monitoring Bill was introduced last October by the Reform Alliance TD as a private members&#39; bill, with the Government saying it would not oppose it at second stage.</p>
<p>
	Justice Minister Alan Shatter said then that the bill provided &quot;a valuable opportunity to discuss in the Dail, risks posed to children by paedophiles&quot;.</p>
<p>
	The reform would see Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan liaise with the Department of Justice to draft rules on how gardai might release information on a known sex offender.</p>
<p>
	http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/td-bids-for-new-law-on-abusers-30077349.html</p>
