Senator Lynn Ruane

The Criminal Justice (Rehabilitative Periods) Bill 2018, introduced by Senator Lynn Ruane, cleared its final stage in the Seanad on Monday with unanimous support.

Opening the debate, Senator Ruane said: “I am delighted that we are now assembled here this evening to pass the bill with the support of the government during government time.

“I am grateful to the minister and leader for facilitating this. It is the kind of cross-party, cross-chamber law-making that I am always proud to be a part of and that demonstrates the role of the Seanad as a source of necessary legislative reform.”

She added: “Taken together and passed into law, I truly believe the provisions of the bill could revolutionise criminal justice and penal policy in this area.”

Hildegarde Naughton, minister of state with special responsibility for civil and criminal justice, said the government is “very supportive of the bill and I note that this support is shared by all sides in this House”.

However, she added that Justice Minister Heather Humphreys would bring amendments to the bill when it reaches the Dáil “to ensure that the bill is as robust and workable as possible”.

“An overly punitive criminal justice system which does not offer realistic and accessible opportunities for those with convictions to reform and move past their offending is inherently self-defeating and undermines the important goal of reducing offending,” Ms Naughton said.

“While recognising that we need to proceed cautiously and that there are genuine concerns about broadening the benefits of the spent convictions regime, the position of the minister, based on the preponderance of available evidence and with particular regard to the situation in other jurisdictions, is that the benefits of a more liberal spent convictions regime outweigh the risks and that society as a whole is better served with a meaningful and fair spent convictions regime.”