Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The criminalisation of homosexual activity has had a long and cruel history. The Taoiseach referred to Victorian statutes but it went back further than that. In 1533, Henry VIII first made homosexual activity an offence, punishable by death. It was first made a criminal offence in Ireland during the reign of Charles I and was punishable by death on conviction. It was not until 1828 that the death penalty was removed for homosexual activity.

The Taoiseach referred to the Offences Against The Person Act 1861. Under section 61, a person would not be sentenced to death but would be sent to prison for life. In 1885, an amendment introduced by Henry Labouchère allowed many men to be prosecuted if they were convicted of what is referred to as gross indecency. That legislation resulted in the conviction and imprisonment of our own Oscar Wilde in England in 1895.

I recognise that politicians have played a considerable part in decriminalising homosexual activity. However, individuals who are not Members of the Oireachtas played a significant role and they too must be recognised. One person in particular that we should recognise is Mr. Jeffrey Dudgeon who sought to challenge, before the European courts, the criminalisation of homosexual activity in Northern Ireland. In 1976, he brought a case before the European Court of Human Rights, challenging the criminalisation in the North, and succeeded. It was not just an abstract threat for Mr. Dudgeon. This was a man who had been questioned by members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, RUC, for four and a half hours about his sex life. I also acknowledge the role and presence of Senator Norris, who similarly took a case which went as far as the Irish Supreme Court. The decision in that case, as Deputy Micheál Martin stated, is a blemish on the Supreme Court's record. Having read it again, it is unfortunately the case that the Supreme Court failed in its duty to recognise that the enumerated and unenumerated rights of Irish citizens included the right to privacy and sexual privacy. Senator Norris also needs to be commended.

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, other members of that Government, and the Oireachtas which voted in favour of the legislation also deserve to be commended, but at this time we must remember the thousands of men and women who could not live their lives openly and who were forced to live a lie by this criminalisation. It is they whom we should remember this evening.

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