Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 May 2022
662. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the status of the progress report of the Working Group to examine the disregard of historical homosexual convictions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23299/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, I published a progress report from the Working Group to Examine the Disregard of Convictions for Certain Qualifying Offences Related to Consensual Sexual Activity between Men on Thursday, 05 May.
The Victorian-era laws which were repealed by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 caused immeasurable harm to generations of gay and bisexual men, criminalising and stigmatizing them simply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 am very conscious that nearly 30 years later, the damage that was caused by these laws continues to impact negatively on too many people’s lives. While this harm can never be fully undone, I am strongly committed to bringing to Government and publishing a scheme to disregard convictions for qualifying offences prior to decriminalisation in 1993.
I would like to thank the members of the Working Group for the important work which they are doing in considering a range of complex issues relating to the development of such a scheme. I decided to publish the progress report in order to highlight the good progress made to date and to draw attention to the key issues identified which both the group and I believe would benefit from a final round of targeted public consultation prior to finalisation of our proposals.
The Working Group consists of representatives from my Department, An Garda Síochána, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), the Office of the Attorney General and three members of the LGBTI+ community with expertise in this area.
The report identifies progress made by the group to date on a number of key issues, as well as proposed next steps. Some of these key issues include identifying appropriate records, what happens to records, criteria for a conviction to be eligible for a disregard, and offences to be included under the disregard scheme.
The purpose of the proposed public consultation is to allow representative organisations and affected people to provide input, based on their lived experience, on a number of key issues identified by the Working Group as requiring further input from affected communities, which will inform the Group’s final deliberations, and ensure more effective policy making and implementation.
The public consultation will be launched in the coming weeks. As set out in Justice Plan 2022, the final report of the Working Group is scheduled for submission to me by the end of Q3 2022, subject to the conclusion and outcome of the consultation process.
