Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Ruane again for her engagement. The legal position is that we are obliged to disclose information relating to spent convictions with our European Union counterparts through the National Vetting Bureau Acts.Similarly, central authorities in other member states share their spent convictions information, where it may exist, with our central authority. This ties in with the earlier point I made, which is that a member state's concept of what is recorded in its criminal records must be respected. The law at European and national level does not allow me the latitude to manipulate, as it were, the treatment of such information when shared in an international context.

I will not accept the amendment, but it is an issue that we might be able to revisit in our discussion on Senator Ruane's Bill. I would be happy to have my officials discuss this point with the Senator in the context of the ongoing discussions on that Bill. In the meantime, I ask the Senator to withdraw her amendment for the purposes of enacting this legislation today.