Press release
Minister McEntee publishes update on work to disregard certain historic convictions of gay and bisexual men
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Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has today 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.
Publishing the progress report, Minister McEntee said:
"The Victorian-era laws which were repealed by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 caused immeasurable harm to generations of gay and bisexual men, criminalising and stigmatising them simply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 have decided to publish this 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.
"I would encourage all those with an interest in this subject to read the progress report and to engage in the public consultation, which will launch in the coming weeks."
The Working Group consists of representatives from the Department of Justice, 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.
Among the interim recommendations of the group is that the term ‘disregard’ replace the term ‘expungement’ in all relevant communications, pending final recommendations. An approach that involves entirely removing or destroying records of unjustly applied offences would not be considered appropriate due to it eliminating records and therefore evidence of such injustice. It would also frustrate the efforts of researchers and historians to explore the relevant topic in the future. For this reason, the Working Group strongly recommends a ‘disregard’ rather than ‘expungement’ (destruction) approach to relevant records.
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 the Minister by the end of Q3 2022, subject to the conclusion and outcome of the consultation process.
On 1 March 2021, Minister McEntee approved the establishment of the Working Group with the membership confirmed in June 2021. Since its establishment the Working Group has met on four occasions: 16 July, 17 September, 25 November and 30 November 2021.
The Working Group is composed of the following members:
LGBTI Community Representatives:
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission:
Office of the Attorney General:
An Garda Síochána:
Secretariat, Department of Justice:
The Working Group is tasked with the following: