Martin Conway (Fine Gael)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach arís. She is present almost as often as the Cathaoirleach. It is remarkable that she has been present twice on the one day.

This legislation is long overdue and was recommended by the Law Reform Commission in 2007. Even then its recommendation was long overdue.

I listened with great interest to Senator Aideen Hayden's contribution. She has stolen my thunder to a great extent, as I agree with many of her sentiments. As public representatives, each of us has dealt with difficult situations involving 18 or 19 year olds who had gone off the rails. They might have been considered adults legally and technically, but they were not adults mentally. In many cases, they were charged with minor offences. In one case a young man in his first week in university was kicking a football on the Stillorgan dual carriageway when he was arrested by the Garda. He was too scared about telling his parents to obtain proper legal advice. He was charged and paid a fine of €200. Ten years down the road he applied for a job in his chosen career in the film industry. He was offered a placement in Canada, but he could not enter the country because his conviction had raised its head. His record in the intervening ten years was clean. His family was devastated and he has not got over the incident, despite the fact that nearly 20 years have since passed. It is a travesty that a career was destroyed by a prank during his time as a freshman in university.

I listened to the story told by Senator Jillian van Turnhout while I was in my office. Such issues must be addressed. This legislation is a step in the right direction. When a sentence is for less than 12 months, a person should not be criminalised for not declaring it after a certain period has passed. If someone who was charged ten years ago for not having a television licence is subject to a Garda check when he or she applies for a taxi licence, that incident should not appear on his or her Garda clearance documents, nor should he or she be denied a public service vehicle licence.

We need to be fair and realistic. As a society, we need to show a certain degree of empathy and forgiveness. Like Senator Ivana Bacik, I am a member of the Sub-Committee on Penal Reform which is doing great work. There are many good developments and I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and the Minister, Deputy Alan Shatter, for their work in this regard. Even this week there has been an announcement of an upgrade of Limerick Prison which is badly needed. Recently I attended Mountjoy Prison and it is heartening to see the investment taking place there. Slopping out will be a thing of the past in a couple of years. It is a gradual and incremental process, but basic human rights prevail in Irish prisons.

This legislation will assist those who have gone to prison, done their time and mended their ways. Society must work with people like them and in doing so there is a better chance they will not reoffend. When an individual has mended his or her ways through a prison sentence, society must meet him or her halfway. I commend the Department of Justice and Equality and the Minister for bringing forward this common-sense legislation after only 16 months in office. I note the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is present for the debate, her second time to be in the House today. I hope this becomes a habit because she is one of the Ministers with more common sense.