The Justice Minister has said that an administrative error in the case of two serial paedophile brothers was not the reason they were returned to the Co Fermanagh village where they committed a string of sex offences.
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It comes after concerns raised by members of the Stormont Justice Committee on Wednesday.
"It would appear that the original court judgement contained a Residency Order which essentially means that the Western Trust, through their Social Workers, had the authority to decide where the brothers could reside and could have determined that Donagh was not an appropriate location," Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew said.
"What transpired was that the Order was not identified by the various agencies responsible, including the Western Trust, and therefore an incident which caused deep hurt and anxiety in the village of Donagh could have been avoided."
The controversy was sparked in June of this year when James and Owen Roe McDermott were found to be behind a wave of sex abuse in Donagh over a 30-year period, but were allowed to return to the village.
The SDLP's Conall McDevitt added: "Up until now there has been an assumption that the McDermott brothers were able to return to their homes in Donagh, Co Fermanagh due to a legal loophole.
"However, evidence given by senior officials to the justice committee has revealed that it was actually as a result of an administrative error."
But in a statement, a Department of Justice spokesperson said: "It is clear that the administrative error had no bearing on the Western Trust's decision to allow the two brothers to return to Donagh on completion of the court case."
Urgent report
Justice Minister David Ford has asked the Director of the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunal Service for an urgent report on the issue.
His spokesperson added: "The judgement of the court is clear that the supervising officer could direct the address at which each of the brothers resided and there were restrictions on them entering particular parts of the village.
"The Minister regrets the manner in which this has been presented, leading to further hurt and distress for the survivors of the McDermott brothers."
The McDermott brothers were made the subject of a two-year Supervision and Treatment Order and made to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life.
Their return to their Donagh home prompted a series of meetings by concerned residents and an appeal from the Western Trust for them to admit themselves to hospital for specialist treatment, which they later did.
But further controversy was caused by the presence of the brothers in a Londonderry psychiatric unit where other vulnerable patients lived, prompting an apology from the health trust.
The McDermotts were later moved to another ward.
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