Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I will conclude on a matter that will only take me a few seconds to mention. I am interested in hearing the Minister's response to the comments of Dr. Maurice Manning of the Irish Human Rights Commission and a former Member of this House. He said:

The grounds of discrimination in the employment equality and equal status legislation should be extended to include discrimination on the basis of a criminal conviction. Without such a prohibition on discrimination the Spent Convictions Bill may be of little assistance in practice. Such an anti-discrimination provision would enable the future Human Rights and Equality Commission to consider cases of discrimination based on a person's criminal record.

That is a strong statement from someone for whom I have great personal admiration. Perhaps when the Minister is responding, he might allay the fears expressed by Dr. Manning. I welcome the thrust of the Bill and look forward to a vigorous debate on it and a number of amendments that will be tabled on Committee Stage.