Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Warfield and the other Sinn Féin Senators for tabling this motion, which is timely and important motion. I welcome our friends and guests into this House. Seanad Éireann is an important place. I thank them for their advocacy and work. I particularly want to welcome Martin Barnes, a neighbour of mine for many years. It is great to see him here and everybody else who has been an advocate.

Many previous speakers mentioned Declan Flynn. In 1982, Declan Flynn was murdered in Fairview Park, his only crime that he was a gay man. He was brutally attacked by five young men who set out, to use their words, to “queer bash”, a common activity that was happening all around Dublin at the time, in every street and park, despite what people might have said. He died after being given a horrific beating. Afterward, many young people then in up in a society that feared and hated homosexuality. When Declan was murdered, I was only 21. I had just returned from Greece, having lived there for a period. I remember particularly that summer and that year. When you were a young man of 21, particularly if you have travelled on the Continent and come back from Greece having had a pretty good time, you suddenly wondered what Ireland was all about. Declan’s murder had a profound effect on many people. In many ways, it was a catalyst for change. If anything positive came out of what happened, it was that catalyst for change.

Another date that many of us in this House will never forget is 22 May 2015. It was the day of the marriage equality referendum. I like to use the phrase “marriage equality referendum”. I left this House one evening a year ago after a debate and somebody stopped me and told me that they thought I got it wrong. The told me equality does not come with marriage and that I did not understand the significance of the meaning of marriage. I challenged that particular politician and had a meaningful debate with them. It is about equality. It was marriage equality and the marriage equality referendum. It was also 33 years after Declan Flynn’s death. The park bench close to where Declan was killed in Fairview Park in Dublin that day was covered with flowers, notes and many memories of him. There was a huge outpouring of emotion on many of those notes, and many were covered in our social media. There was talk of love and even forgiveness. People left messages of forgiveness. One thing was clear. There was a solidarity and remembrance of Declan Flynn 33 years later on 22 May 2015.

I, and many of us, think of Declan and those who paved the way for change, justice and reform. We remember the inspiring example of our Independent Senator David Norris, who brought his own case for decriminalisation all the way to the Supreme Court, and his determination and pursuit of equality and justice. It is important that he was here today. I know it was very special for him to be here. Many were generous in their acknowledgements of him and his enormous work. I am very proud to serve on the Independent benches in Seanad Éireann and I was greatly honoured when Senator Norris nominated me to contest the Seanad elections. That was one of the greatest honours of my political career in this House.

As we discuss these issues and have this debate, it is important that we acknowledge our indebtedness to Europe. In 1988, the European Court of Human Rights decided in favour of Senator Norris’s landmark case that created the impetus and provided the momentum to change our laws. Europe has been good to us in terms of social justice and equality issues. Senator Malcolm Byrne referred to and has always acknowledged that. We need to be thankful for Europe, its courts and its institutions in the context of our debate today. As Senator Norris does, we should acknowledge that he did not take his legal challenge in Europe on his own. A dozen men who could not be named took the case with him. We will always be grateful to them and to his counsel at the time, our former Senator and former President Mary Robinson, for the important role that she played.

I want to pay a special tribute to unknown heroes, to the friends of many of the people who are sitting in the Public Gallery today and to the thousands of people whose names we did not know and may never know who were criminalised or convicted before 1993. Many of them have passed away. May they rest in peace.

There is always more to do in promoting justice and equality on the island of Ireland and around the world, such as by tackling homophobia and bullying in our schools and workplaces and advocating for improved sexual health.

It is important that the Government honour the commitments it made to disregard the criminal records of gay men who were convicted of historic offences prior to the decriminalisation of homosexuality. The programme for Government includes that commitment and contains the phrase “introduce a scheme for the expunging of criminal records of gay men convicted of historical offences”. I believe the Government will honour that commitment, and I hope that this evening we will be given a timeline for what it proposes to do. I commend Sinn Féin on its use of Private Members' time in respect of this matter, and I commend the motion to the House.