according to the Shadow Health Minister.

Mr. Nelson Bascome said this week hospital psychiatrists and psychologists could be used to boost treatment of offenders.

And he also blasted claims Government coffers were too drained for a full treatment programme now.

"I just don't accept that. It is absolute poppycock.'' he said.

Earlier this week, however, Health Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness said inadequate resources were a big stumbling block.

It meant a full programme almost certainly wouldn't be running when the new prison opens.

Nevertheless Government would push for a full treatment programme for sex offenders as a matter of "urgency,'' he vowed. "It's very much a goal, however, we are aiming towards.'' He said Government is also bringing in tough new laws to protect women from sex attacks. The laws included stiffer penalties, and new offences, including rape in marriage.

Both Mr. Edness and Mr. Bascome sympathised with the convicted child molester who told The Royal Gazette this week prison had totally failed him.

The man claimed he emerged from Casemates still a danger to society, and attacked calls for tougher laws against sex offenders.

He said treatment for psychological and mental illnesses were the only solution.

The man traces his problem to his childhood when he was sexually molested by a male family friend.

Mr. Bascome said a full treatment programme would be an eventual money-saver.

"It would be cheaper than incarceration, and also more effective,'' he said.

He scorned Government claims countries overseas faced similar difficulties in setting up programmes.

"It is quite the contrary. Great Britain, for instance, has a special treatment programme.'' Mr. Bascome advised a better deployment of resources -- such as specialists from St. Brendan's being used at Casemates.

Mr. Edness admitted the current weakness at Casemates in treating sex attackers. There were psychologists and pschiatrists at hand -- but there was no specialist programme on the scale needed.

"We are working towards getting one. We want to be self-sufficient in this regard,'' he said.

Seminars had been carried out earlier in the year with the view of eventually forming a full treatment scheme.

Mr. Edness stressed Government had launched a multi-pronged offensive on the problem.

Legislation would be brought in to amend the Criminal Code, leading to longer jail terms for sex offenders.

The move follows concern at the apparent leniency of some sentences, said Mr.

Edness.

"There has been a perception that sometimes the sentences haven't been sufficiently severe,'' he said.

Mr. Edness also said a variety of initiatives had already been started to combat the problem.

These included the child development programme, and a multi-disciplinary team from the health and education ministries responsible for picking out children at risk from abuse.

A responsibility also lay with the whole of society to cure the problems.

Mr. Edness said child molesters had often been sexually assaulted themselves.

"The best chance we have is to better nurture and care for our children,'' he said.