David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House and I give a broad welcome to the publication of the Bill. I am in favour of this type of legislation as part of a package of re-integration of former prisoners into society. The Bill provides for a non-disclosure regime whereby certain convictions are considered spent or do not have to be disclosed to a prospective employer after a set period of conviction-free living, defined as the rehabilitation period. This Bill is a long time coming and is long overdue, although we welcome that it has been published. In Britain there have been spent conviction laws since the 1970s, so it seems we are a long way behind some other European countries. The fact we have been waiting so long for this legislation is an issue in itself, but I welcome its publication.

The Minister for Justice and Equality spoke about the liberal nature of some of this Bill, and I could describe myself as liberal in some respects. I see the primary objective of general justice policy not to be solely about punishment but rather rehabilitation, and I am sure the Minister of State would agree with that. The primary focus and objective of any justice policy should be to reduce crime, offending and re-offending.

The purpose of the Bill is primarily to ensure that minor offences will not follow an individual for his or her life or hinder a person in gaining employment. Getting people into gainful employment is crucial in tackling recidivism and offers an incentive to individuals to prove they are reformed and can get back to being a productive member of society. It therefore offers an incentive to avoid crime. A range of barriers to inhibit the rehabilitation and re-integration of ex-prisoners, in particular, has been an issue not just for ex-prisoners but for all people with past convictions. Studies have indicated that 48% of employers would not take on somebody with a criminal record, and a survey carried out by the Small Firms Association indicated that between 76% and 87% of firms would not employ an ex-offender. We heard earlier from Senator Quinn about his experience with the issue. Such issues can hold back some individuals from gaining meaningful employment, and there have been examples of the effects of minor convictions acting as a barrier to employment. Nobody would want to see that.

It should also be noted that the majority of sentences handed down in the courts are of this nature. The proportion of sentences of up to 12 months accounted for 78% of all sentences in 2007 and 80% of sentences in 2011. We have concerns about some of the detail of the Bill, and these are similar to some of those highlighted by Senator van Turnhout and others. We will consider tabling a number of amendments in this area.

We support the exclusion of offences where an offender wishes to work with children or vulnerable adults or where a sexual offence has been committed. We are concerned that limiting this to offences which incurred a maximum of one year is unduly narrow. The nature of this exemption from the spent conviction regime should be offence relevant. Where the nature of a past conviction is not relevant after a rehabilitation period, we should not present employers and others with an unwarranted opportunity to discriminate.

I also note some of the points raised by the Irish Penal Reform Trust, and a number of Senators have highlighted the waiting periods for the convictions to be spent, along with the limits on the sentences to which this legislation applies. Our party criticised the 2007 Bill for its conservatism and we welcome that this Bill is, as the Minister stated, liberal in its approach. We also note the limiting period in the application of such legislation was six months, which was too great. This Bill improves this, extending the period to 12 months, although the Irish Penal Reform Trust recommends 30 months. In the UK the period is two years and there may be room for improvement in amendments that could be accepted by the Minister. The waiting time of three to seven years represents an improvement on original proposals, but the Irish Penal Reform Trust is also of the view that these could be shortened to two to four years, and the periods in the UK are shorter. There are also a number of European examples, and perhaps the area could be examined.

Under the Children Act 2001, an 18 year old who commits a once-off minor offence may have this conviction hanging over him or her until the age of 27, as the seven year rehabilitation period dates from the conviction, which takes place up to two years after the offence is committed. This is a valid point and we should not allow the mistakes of a young person hang over him or her.

We are 14 years on from the Good Friday Agreement and there are many former political prisoners with convictions we believe should be expunged. I know the Minister has indicated he will consider the matter, perhaps with separate legislation, at some time in future. It would be helpful as part of the conflict resolution process we all support. It concerns not just prisoners associated with the IRA but also from a number of other organisations. Those records should be examined and expunged, depending on circumstances. The issue should be considered by the Government.