Ms Fíona Ní Chinnéide:

Exactly. That campaign has been extremely helpful. The campaign is to ban the box and the same tag line has been used in the UK and US. It seeks to remove the question "Do you have any former convictions?" from application forms. The question can be asked much further down in the process, including at job offer stage.

We need a combination of policy change and the public information piece but also, on the other hand, support through legislation. There is a need for some form of anti-discrimination legislation that takes a proportionate and reasonable approach alongside that. Consider a situation where somebody is already performing a job very well when information of a previous conviction comes up and the person loses the job on that basis. That person has no avenue of recourse at all because there is no protection.

There are international examples. For almost 30 years, Australia has legislated that people should not be discriminated against in employment because of their criminal record if that record does not prevent them from carrying out "inherent requirements" of the job. It is described slightly differently in Tasmania where the words "irrelevant criminal records" are used. Approximately 23% of the cases of complaint that come before the Australian Human Rights Commission relate to discrimination cases on the basis of criminal records but the number that are successful is quite small - approximately six in 2012. We certainly advocate, and will be asking the committee to consider, two forms of anti-discrimination legislation. One is that no one should be discriminated against on the basis of convictions that are spent and the other relates to proportionality and the ability to meet and perform the inherent requirements of the particular job.

There is real fear for people who have former convictions. Even if they were never asked about them and they are not relevant to the job, the fear of that information coming out is enormous. I think Deputy O'Callaghan earlier referred to people being in agony and that is very real.

The other piece of it is people not going for promotions because a promotion might involve international travel at which point they have to talk about their conviction. The problem is not just getting the job, it is retaining it and advancing in one's life.