Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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659. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for the delay in setting up the public consultation in relation to disregard legislation to exonerate men convicted before the courts of the State before gay law reform; when it is expected to commence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31962/22]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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702. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when consultation on the drafting of legislation to disregard convictions for laws relating to homosexuality that were repealed in 1993 will commence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32372/22]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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703. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when she expects the consultation process into convictions for laws relating to homosexuality that were repealed in 1993 will conclude; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32373/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 659, 702 and 703 together.

As the Deputy may be aware, I published a progress report from the Working Group to Examine the Disregard of Convictions for Certain Qualifying Offences Related to Consensual Sexual Activity between Men on Thursday, 5 May.

The Victorian-era laws which were repealed by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 caused immeasurable harm to generations of gay and bisexual men, criminalising and stigmatizing them simply because of their sexual orientation.

I am conscious that nearly 30 years later, the damage that was caused by these laws continues to impact negatively on too many people’s lives. While this harm can never be fully undone, I am strongly committed to bringing to Government and publishing a scheme to disregard convictions for qualifying offences prior to decriminalisation in 1993.

The Working Group consists of representatives from my Department, An Garda Síochána, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), the Office of the Attorney General and three members of the LGBTI+ community with expertise in this area. 

The report identifies progress made by the group to date on a number of key issues, as well as proposed next steps. Some of these key issues include identifying appropriate records, what happens to records, criteria for a conviction to be eligible for a disregard, and offences to be included under the disregard scheme.

The purpose of the proposed public consultation is to allow representative organisations and affected people to provide input, based on their lived experience, on a number of key issues identified by the Working Group as requiring further input from affected communities, which will inform the Group’s final deliberations, and ensure more effective policy-making and implementation.

Since the publication of the Progress Report in May, work has been ongoing to progress all of the next steps in the report including the development of resources to enable an effective and accessible public consultation.

The public consultation will be launched this summer. As set out in Justice Plan 2022, the final report of the Working Group is scheduled for submission to me by the end of Q3 2022, subject to the conclusion and outcome of the consultation process.