Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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140. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress being made in respect of the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5742/14]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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145. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the Spent Convictions Bill; when will it be signed into law and come into operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5779/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 140 and 145 together.

It is my intention that the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012 will be enacted and come into operation at the earliest possible date. The Bill has passed Committee Stage in the Dáil, having passed all stages in the Seanad. However, before the Bill could be taken at Report Stage, a 2013 UK Court of Appeal judgment necessitated a review of the disclosure provisions in both the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 and in the Spent Convictions Bill. That review has now been completed and I expect that it will be possible to complete the passage of the Bill in the first half of this year.