Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
1091. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 1107 of 21 March 2023, if her Departmental files relating to the High Court, Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights cases in relation to proposals for gay law reform which resulted in a landmark judgement and decriminalisation thirty years ago are going to be made publicly accessible; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37463/23]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that in July my Department officially handed over documents relating to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland to the National Archives where they are now publically available.
The criminalisation of consensual sexual acts between men in Ireland came into effect prior to the foundation of the State and remained in place until its eventual decriminalisation in 1993.
The Victorian-era laws which were repealed by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 caused immeasurable harm to generations of gay and bisexual men, criminalising and stigmatizing them simply because of their sexual orientation.
I have published the final report and recommendations of the Working Group examining the feasibility of a scheme to disregard certain historic convictions related to consensual sexual activity between men.
The report contains 95 recommendations regarding the introduction of a statutory scheme to enable the disregard of relevant criminal records.
The report makes a number of recommendations on eligibility standards, the application process that should be followed and the offences to include in the scheme.
It also states that applications for disregard can be made on behalf of deceased persons and that emigrants and citizens of other countries who were affected can apply.
Input from a public consultation held in 2022 was invaluable in shaping the final recommendations for a number of key issues in this report.
The publication of the Working Group’s report marked an important moment in efforts to exonerate those impacted by these outdated laws and address some of the lingering harms of the past.
I look forward to considering the report’s recommendations with a view to progressing the introduction of a statutory scheme.
