Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second the Bill.

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber for this important debate. This is excellent, progressive and badly needed legislation, which could change lives for the better. I strongly commend Senator Ruane, along with Seb and her team, on bringing it before the House. I was delighted to co-sign the Bill and proud to second it today. I urge everyone in the House to give it their full support.

As Senator Ruane has outlined, this is a very modest Bill. The proposals are not radical, but offer a small but meaningful step forward on how we deal with convictions. I would love to see a consensus in this Chamber that we could go further, and I know that Senator Ruane would too, but at a minimum we should be able to support the sensible, humane, proportional system for spent convictions outlined in the Bill. It is a small extension of current practice, but it could really change people's lives.The whole basis of the system is rooted in the idea that after a certain period of time, people deserve a second chance and the opportunity to turn their lives around. We are dealing with the most basic principles of rehabilitative justice. If we believe in rehabilitation, we need to think seriously about how that works in practice. The current system is a blunt, unjust instrument which has a massively negative impact on individuals, their families and, importantly, their wider community and society. This broader social impact is very important. Ultimately, everyone benefits from a proper system of spent convictions and ensuring that people have a pathway to turn their lives around. If we keep a decades old conviction hanging over someone and if we cut off their capacity to work or access education, it is obviously more likely they will return to crime or offending behaviour. It is important we give people a chance. The capacity to spend certain convictions after a period is vital in reducing recidivism and benefits both the individual and wider society.

We also need to be clear about the class aspect to all of this. Under the current system, for example, there is no limit on the number of minor motoring offences that can become spent but this does not apply to other types of offences which are limited to one. This system can benefit someone with multiple speeding convictions, which can put lives at risk, but not someone who has two shoplifting convictions. This means that a mother who twice stole food for her children can be made to carry those convictions for the rest of her life but a motorist has the chance to move on. The injustice of this should be obvious, particularly when we consider the impact of addiction and poverty, to which Senator Ruane referred. I have worked in the areas of addiction and poverty and I have spoken in this House many times, particularly about the charitable organisation I founded, the RISE Foundation.

All of this is interlinked. If one reads the testimony gathered by the Irish Penal Reform Trust and other organisations, again and again one sees people who have made mistakes earlier in life struggling with poverty, addiction and homelessness. They are never able to get out from under it and it follows them forever. Who benefits from a system like this? As one man put it, people can change their lives around if given the opportunity without a 15 year old conviction that keeps rearing its head every time they try to better themselves. It is not just about the barriers to, for example, employment and education. It also matters because, as that man also said, people carry the shame and guilt around with them for life. Shame and guilt can be very crippling. I remember when, as a therapist with the RISE Foundation, I worked with a group of young women in the women's prison. My experience of listening to those women was life changing. Many of them spoke about how they were abused as children, whether sexually, physically or emotionally, and how they went on then to act out, whether through addiction or shoplifting. All those women were amazing and they deserve a chance of a new life.

I spoke very openly in the media about my own recovery from addiction. I have no shame in that thankfully but there was a time in my life when I was crippled with shame. It is the worst feeling in the world and it stops one from moving forward. If we have a system that continues to put that shame on us, it is impossible to move forward.

Change is urgently needed. Not too long ago, one man wrote to me describing his experiences. He had a gambling addiction, stole money, lost it and tried to chase those losses. He ended up turning himself in, being convicted and then completely turning his life around. He attended counselling, did further education, got a job outside the country and is now married with young children. He wants to return home and for his children, as they grow up, to see their grandparents but, unfortunately, he cannot do so because his convictions from decades ago prevent him from getting work or insurance in Ireland. This is a man who made a mistake, atoned for it, turned his life around and now wants to make a place for himself in society and contribute but just cannot get out from underneath these convictions. As he said, his addiction took so much away from him and is now doing the same to his wife and children. It is really heartbreaking and it is totally wrong.

There is a clear need for reform. The current Act was passed in 2016. During the debates on that legislation, Deputies and Senators criticised it for not going far enough. At the time, they were told we needed to tread carefully because this was the first time a spent conviction system had been introduced in Ireland. Three years on, it is definitely time for us to consider whether the Act is achieving its aims. Experience would show us that it most definitely is not.

This Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice and Equality, of which I am a member, considered this issue at length last year. We published a wide-ranging review of penal reform and sentencing laws. I will refer directly to our conclusions on this issue. On a cross-party basis, we agreed that:

The issue of spent convictions must be examined urgently. Offenders should be afforded a second chance, and should not have to carry the stigma and negative consequences of a criminal record for the rest of their lives if they have moved away from offending behaviour.

The report describes the current Act as "extremely limited in its application" and notes that the "current position does not take into account in any way the circumstances that may have contributed to a person's offending behaviour at the time, which could have been youth, addiction, poverty or any range of other circumstances." It notes the "generous provision for offences committed by people when they are aged 18 or younger" and recommends that these provisions "be extended up to the age of 24 at a minimum." I sincerely thank Senator Ruane for taking the initiative and responding to the calls from the committee, in particular its recommendations on a specific system to deal with young people. Such a system is provided for in the Bill and I believe it is one of its strongest aspects. Youth organisations and services for young people have been arguing for years that we must be able to account for the fact that a minor criminal conviction earned as a teenager can radically hinder a young person's chances at building a life.

Ireland's current system has an identical rule and the weight of legal evidence is such that should the Oireachtas fail to act on this, I am sure the current system will be successfully challenged in the courts. On that basis, the proposals in this Bill are not only desirable but necessary. We should not wait for a lengthy, expensive court case to change this unjust system. We should act now and this Bill is the perfect chance to do that.