Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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397. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the public consultation on the disregarding of historical offences for the LGBT community will take place. [46873/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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The Victorian-era laws which were repealed by the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 caused immeasurable harm to generations of gay and bisexual men, criminalising and stigmatizing them simply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 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 the development of resources to enable an effective and accessible public consultation.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the public consultation will be launched in the coming weeks.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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398. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated timeline for spent convictions legislation as committed to in the Programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46874/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Government commits in the Programme for Government to reviewing the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 and to broaden the range of convictions that are considered spent.

As part of this review process, a public consultation on spent convictions was launched in October 2020. Bespoke research on the approach to spent convictions internationally was also commissioned.

Informed by the consultation, other submissions received and international research, the Department has compiled a report aimed at identifying and assessing the possible implications of amending the 2016 Act so that the fairest possible outcomes can be achieved for the public.

I hope to be in a position to conclude the review over the coming period.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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399. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the timeline for legislation on the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval Bill which has been on the legislative programme for several sessions but no heads have been published to date. [46886/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Stormont House Agreement, concluded by the two Governments and the Northern Ireland Parties in December 2014, provides for a framework of measures to address the legacy of troubles-related violence in Northern Ireland. The framework of measures agreed include the establishment of the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval (ICIR).

Given the cross-border nature of the ICIR, in September 2015, the Government signed an International Agreement with the British Government on the establishment of the Independent Commission for Information Retrieval (ICIR). The development of proposals for legislation to establish the ICIR in this jurisdiction have been progressed, in close cooperation with the Department of Foreign Affairs, and Heads of Bill are well advanced. However, ICIR will require legislation to be enacted in both jurisdictions with parallel provisions in order for it to come into effect, which is presenting a particular difficulty at the current time.

As the Deputy will be aware, the UK Government published the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill in May. The Bill has passed through the House of Commons and is currently being considered by the House of Lords. The Bill does not provide for an Independent Commission for Information Retrieval as set out in the Stormont House Agreement and therefore our legislation cannot be progressed at this time. The Irish Government has expressed its opposition to this legislation, as have all political parties in Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Commission for Human Rights, many victims groups and others.

The Government will continue to engage and work with the British Government and the parties in Northern Ireland on this very important issue.