Dr. T.J. McIntyre:

Deputy Pringle's point was fair and reflects a point my colleague Ian O'Donnell has made about the existing law, namely, that the problem is we treat spent convictions as a prize for rehabilitation. One receives a prize at the end of a rehabilitation period, rather than it being a tool that promotes rehabilitation. It is no good having it as a symbolic gesture at the end of seven years to say to somebody, "Well done. You have desisted for that period," when a shorter period could be much more effective in promoting rehabilitation in the future.