Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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398. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill; the timeframe for completion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14762/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012 has passed Committee Stage in the Dáil, having passed all stages in the Seanad. My intention is to have the Bill enacted and commenced at the earliest possible date. Before the Bill could be taken at Report Stage, however, a 2013 UK Court of Appeal judgment necessitated a review of the disclosure provisions in both the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 and in the Spent Convictions Bill. That review has now been completed and it is expected that it will be possible to complete the passage of the Bill later this year.

Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
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399. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide an update on the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013. [14791/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill was published in July 2013. In September 2013 a consultation symposium was held by my Department to elicit the views of interested parties on the policies and text as reflected in the Bill as published and submissions arising from this continue to be received and examined. This is an extremely important and far-reaching Bill which in effect re-writes the present law relating to how we deal with issues relating to decision-making by persons who have difficulty in making decisions unaided. As the Deputy will be aware, there has been extensive consultation on this Bill over a long period since the publication of Heads of the Bill originally in 2008, on foot of which the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality carried out a public consultation process. An extensive and informative Second Stage debate on the Bill took place in Dáil Éireann on 3 and 11 December last and the Bill passed Second Stage on 11 December. At present my Department is preparing amendments for Committee Stage and, as the Deputy will also be aware, this will include provisions for Advance Healthcare Directives which are being prepared by the Department of Health. The intention is to progress to Committee stage before the summer.