Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The Senator's point is relevant and well made. What happens in the case of a person who has a valid conviction in terms of national law but where there is incompatibility with the system of the convention? That is the net point which these amendments seek to address. The question of payments, be they ex gratia or otherwise, does not arise under these amendments. What does arise, however, is what happens if one has a valid conviction in Irish law which is nevertheless found to be incompatible with the system of the convention. The person so convicted has stains on his or her character and a conviction which is at variance with the provisions of the convention.

The amendment seeks to address the issue through the introduction of a statutory provision in regard to the power of the President to pardon an individual on the advice of the Government. If one examines the text of the amendment, however, it is clear that all it proposes is that someone can write to a Minister. I do not have to remind Members of either House that one can always write to a Minister. There is not much point in providing for that by way of statute.