Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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580. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will outline the current situation for spent convictions for insurance related driving offences; if she has any plans for further reform in this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59120/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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A spent conviction, sometimes referred to as an expungement, is a conviction that, when it meets certain criteria, does not legally have to be disclosed in certain circumstances, e.g. when a person is seeking employment, returning to education or to be Garda vetted.

This does not equate to a situation where the criminal record is “wiped clean”. The record of the spent conviction is not deleted.

The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016, provides for certain convictions to become spent once 7 years have passed since the date of conviction. In general and in accordance with the provisions of the Act, the following convictions may become spent:

1. All convictions in the District Court for motoring offences which are more than 7 years old subject to the proviso that spent convictions for dangerous driving are limited to a single conviction.

2. All convictions in the District Court for minor public order offences which are more than 7 years old.

3. In addition, where a person has one, and only one, conviction (other than a motoring or public order offence) which resulted in a term of imprisonment of less than 12 months or a fine, that conviction is spent after 7 years. This provision applies to either a District Court or Circuit Court conviction.

4. A conviction resulting in a non-custodial sentence can also become spent after 7 years. This means such a sentence imposed by a court of imprisonment for a term of 2 years or less, the execution of the whole of which is suspended for a period specified by the court and that suspension is not subsequently revoked in whole or in part by the Court, and is not in addition to a custodial sentence.

There is no formal procedure to be gone through to have a conviction declared spent. For a conviction to become spent, a person will normally be required to not have received any convictions for a set period from the date the sentence is imposed. This conviction free period is known as a “rehabilitation period.”

It is important to understand that while a conviction may become spent under Irish law, this does not mean that the conviction ceases to be part of the person's criminal record. The effect of the Act is that, although it remains part of the person’s criminal record, the person will not be penalised in law or incur any liability for failing to disclose a spent conviction.

It is also important to note that in some cases, disclosure of a spent conviction is required in circumstances including for example for specified work, such as with An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces, or applying for a public service vehicle, private security, taxi or firearm licence. An Garda Síochána is not required to expunge the details of such offences from the Garda PULSE system and a court may also admit or require evidence regarding a spent conviction in certain circumstances.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to review the Criminal justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016. The aim of this commitment is to broaden the range of convictions that are eligible to become spent.

A Garda Vetting Review Group was established in April 2021 and meets regularly to discuss proposals regarding potential amendments to vetting legislation. This group includes members of the National Vetting Bureau in An Garda Síochána, officials from my Department, Tusla and other relevant stakeholders.

The primary focus of the Group is to deliberate on and formulate recommendations to strengthen the vetting legislation in an effective manner. Issues to be considered by the Group include any changes which may be possible around the matter of re-vetting and I hope that the Group will be in a position to report on its work early in the new year.