Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)

Go raibh maith agat. I thank the campaigners and Deputy Ó Snodaigh for bringing forward this Bill. It aims to provide for the disregarding of certain criminal convictions that arose from a selection of legislation all through the 19th century and, indeed, one Act going back to the 17th century, as well as the Common Law. It had nothing to do with justice or fairness. It was homophobia at its worst and a set of values that had nothing to do with love between two people. It is high time we got rid of it. We are not only recognising the injustice but actually setting up a process that will allow us to undo that injustice and to finally bring fairness.

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