Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this Bill and I congratulate my colleague, Deputy Calleary, for re-initiating the Bill and for the work he has undertaken to ensure it is being debated on the floor of the House so early in this term.

The issue under discussion was raised by the previous Government in 2007 and a Bill was initiated and published at that time. It was referred to Committee on 18 December 2008. However, it has sat there since that time. All sides of the House allowed such important legislation to remain static and this is to be regretted.

Dáil reform has been a subject of discussion inside and outside the House. The Chief Whip has indicated publically that we will do our business differently, with more sitting days and Friday sittings and longer Dáil sessions. However, if Bills such as this are left to one side, we will show that Dáil reform is not what it has been made out to be. I would prefer to see a work programme being published by the Chief Whip rather than feeding this frenzy that there is a demand for more and longer sittings rather than addressing the substantive issue which is the programme of work of the House. The Chief Whip has outlined a reform of the committee structure which will involve fewer committees with different policy committees being condensed into one committee. This is a recipe for disaster and for even more Bills to be left aside which will ultimately lead to the next Dáil having to deal with Bills parked by this Dáil. I acknowledge this is not the Minister's intention and he has a reforming zeal. I hope the committee structure will have the capacity to deal with the legislation emanating from Departments. I urge the Minister to examine the proposed committee structure as it might not be adequate to meet the demands of this House.

My colleague, Deputy Calleary, has set out the details of the Bill. It provides that those who have committed minor offences will not be required to disclose those minor offences at a later stage, particularly in cases where people seek employment. We all know of instances in people's lives where they have found themselves on the wrong side of the law in a minor matter or perhaps in a more serious matter but which may be the only incident, the only black mark on an otherwise good character. It has been a source of much annoyance and frustration for many of those individuals and their families when this means they are not accepted in society or more particularly, they are prevented from taking up employment as a result of fear or prejudice in the mind of an employer. This is particularly of concern at this time of high unemployment and any little blemish on a person's record could be enough to make him or her unacceptable for employment.

I refer to the high number of examples of people who have had minor brushes with the law and find themselves excluded completely from then on. The cycle of unemployment must be broken. Statistics show that long term unemployment in a household can breed and propagate itself to the next generation. This Bill has the capacity to do something to repair that potential onward damage.

The Department of Justice and Equality has a tendency to be somewhat conservative in nature. However, in the past it has shown capacity to deal with similar issues. I refer to the programmes for restorative justice in Nenagh and Tallaght, administered by the probation and welfare service of the Department and in co-operation with local communities. This is a rehabilitation process for young offenders in which the individual offender is given the opportunity to face up to the harm he or she has caused and a chance to make good the damage. The victim is regarded as being at the centre of this process. I have seen the programme for restorative justice at work and I know it has been very helpful in assisting young people to get back on track by showing them the error of their ways and the impact of their offences on the community and on individuals and it has allowed for character development.

The Bill takes into consideration the impact on the wider community and the need for the protection of vulnerable persons in the context of the crimes of rape and murder in particular and other offences against children and minors and other vulnerable members of society. The protection of society and of vulnerable members of society must be juxtapositioned with the need for people to get on with their lives. As I said at the outset, it is vitally important that we give people an opportunity to get back into employment and ensure they have the capacity to live their own lives and manage their families in a way that one would want to see happen.

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