Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. Obviously, the overall rationale for my amendment is that the original rehabilitative periods put forward in this Bill of five to seven years for relevant custodial sentences and three to five years for relevant non-custodial sentences were too long. The Government's own amendment, which reduces these periods to four to five years and two to four years, respectively, is very welcome but in my opinion is too conservative. Nevertheless, I welcome these changes and am supportive of them.

I wish to draw the Minister of State's attention, once again, to the explanatory memorandum that accompanied the publication of the Bill which sets out the main purpose of the Bill as being "to assist the rehabilitation of offenders, who often experience difficulties securing employment as a result of having a conviction". In order to achieve this objective, the Bill must be as generous as possible. To be generous does not mean being soft on crime in any way, although some members of the Government may believe that a less restrictive and less conservative law might be seen thus. It would show foresight and an appreciation of the long-term societal benefits of encouraging the rehabilitation and the reintegration of ex-offenders into society. A less restrictive spent convictions regime, negating as far as possible against the negative, far-reaching and often discriminatory consequences for ex-offenders and their families would also reflect the qualities, in Irish society, of compassion and forgiveness.

I am very aware of research conducted by the UK Home Office into re-conviction rates which suggests that if an individual has not re-offended in the first two years post-conviction, he or she is at equal risk of future risk of future offending as an individual with no previous conviction. That finding is in keeping with the fact that in the UK legislation, the conviction-free or rehabilitative period at the lowest end of the offending scale is actually two years. Obviously, when I put forward my amendment I was hoping that my original amendments would be accepted, which they were not. I will now reflect on this and return to it on Report Stage, if necessary.