Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, 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.

We committed as part of the Programme for Government to review the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016. The intention was to broaden the range of convictions that could be considered spent.

As part of this review process, a public consultation on spent convictions was launched by my Department in October 2020. Bespoke research was also commissioned into how spent convictions are handled internationally.

Based on the outcome of that consultation and other submissions received as well as the international research, my 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.

This issue remains under review, as consideration is also being given to the Justice Plan 2023 objective to support the work of the Oireachtas in order to progress the Criminal Justice (Rehabilitative Periods) Bill 2018. This Private Member’s Bill proposes to amend and considerably expand the above-mentioned 2016 Act.