Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

The Senator is right to say there was much heat in the Dáil on this issue last week. I do not propose to rehearse those arguments. I will deal with the amendment on its merits and not on any other basis.

Unfortunately, the Senator seems not to understand the Bill. It requires that someone who has been convicted of one of these offences notify the Minister that he or she has such a conviction. Having a conviction does not ban a person from having a licence. If either of the Deputies to which the Senator refers wishes to apply for a road haulage or passenger transport licence, there is no reason they would not get one. They merely have to register the fact that they have been convicted of these crimes. If they wish to do so, they may give the additional information in the licence application that they were released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. The Minister is merely obliged to take the matter into consideration. There is no automatic ban on anyone holding a licence.

The Good Friday Agreement was signed by the Government and passed by the people by referendum in 1998. The agreement provides for early release, under licence, of convicted criminals. It does not provide for an amnesty or for convictions to be expunged. It does not say the convictions are spent. It provides for the early release of convicted criminals under licence. That is the fact. It is not my personal agenda or opinion. It is the law and an international agreement, as the Senator has said.

The Senator used the term "political prisoners" and accused me of having a personal agenda. It may be the Senator's view that these crimes were politically motivated, and he is entitled to that view. It may be his view that these people were political prisoners. He is entitled to that view. However, there is a different situation here. The Irish courts, constituted under the Constitution, have said these people are convicted criminals. They have been convicted of crimes by our courts under the terms of our Constitution. I can not change that. It is a fact. These people are convicted criminals. It is the Senator's view that they are not criminals, that they are political prisoners and that what they did was politically motivated. He is entitled to that opinion. However, the fact is that, under our laws and our Constitution, they are convicted criminals. That has not changed and the Good Friday Agreement does not change it either. It provides for early release under licence if they behave themselves. Those are the basic facts.

It is not my proposal to amend the Bill to treat them any differently from other people who have been convicted of similar crimes. When they apply for a licence they may admit to the fact that they had been convicted of these crimes. If they wish to give an explanation as to why they committed the crimes they may do so.