Expunging criminal records of men convicted of homosexuality to be done on case-by-case basis

The Irish Times reports that Mr Flanagan is in the process of developing a law to expunge the criminal records of those convicted of being homosexuals, 25 years after it was decriminalised.

There are 150 cases in Garda records from between 1944 and 1993 which are at issue and need to be examined.

Mr Flanagan said: “It seems to me that this will have to be on a case-by-case basis and because of this it’s somewhat painstaking, going back over the records.”

He added that “some of the records going back over the decades are scant”.

The Justice Minister added that “gardaí are progressing matters” and he had asked them to check their files and report on the quality and availability of them within three months.

Last month he formally apologised in the Dáil to people prosecuted under the law, saying he “felt the hurt and isolation created by those laws, and particularly to those who were criminally convicted by the existence of such laws”.

The State held a reception at Dublin Castle last month to mark the 25th anniversary of decriminalisation.