Parliamentary Question: Proposed Legislation

27th March 2007

 235. Mr. Quinn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans to introduce legislation equivalent to the British Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974; if he will outline any practical difficulties that might be involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11674/07]

Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell): The UK Act to which the Deputy refers provides a framework by which certain criminal records may be expunged. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a person convicted of all but the most serious criminal offences and who receives a sentence less than 30 months in prison (including suspended), benefits from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, if they are not convicted again during a specified period.

The effect of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, 1974 is that once a conviction is spent, meaning the rehabilitation period is finished, the rehabilitated person shall be treated, in law, as a person who has not been convicted or charged with the offence.

In general there is no provision in Irish law allowing for the expunging of criminal convictions from the Garda criminal records. However, with the introduction of the Children Act, 2001 provision was made for a limited "wiping of the slate" in respect of most offences committed by persons under 18, once certain conditions have been met. The provision in the Children Act, which came into operation on 1 May 2002, limits, as far as possible, the effects of a finding of guilt, where the relevant conditions have been met, by treating the person for all purposes in law as a person who has not committed, been charged with, prosecuted for, found guilty or dealt with for an offence.

The Second Programme of the Law Reform Commission for the period 2000 to 2007 proposes, as part of an examination of the law on privacy, to consider longevity of criminal records and expunging of certain offences from the records. I understand that the Law Reform Commission intends to prepare a Consultation Paper examining the complex range of issues surrounding the matter of 'spent convictions'. Such Consultations Papers normally encompass an analysis of legislation and practice in other jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom. I understand that the Law Reform Commission will publish this paper within the first half of this year. Such papers are normally followed by a final report from the Commission. I expect that we will await the findings of the ultimate Law Reform Commission Report before proceeding with legislative proposals on this issue.

In a broader context, the Deputy may wish to note that the Council of the European Union has adopted a Council Decision on the exchange of information extracted from the criminal record and a proposal for a Council Framework Decision on the organisation and content of the exchange of information extracted from criminal records between Member States is currently under discussion.