Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-25
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Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel

On section 51, the Labour Party wholeheartedly welcomes this legislation but there are some outstanding issues which we wish to hear the Minister respond to. These issues were previously raised by my colleague, Deputy Nash, in the Dáil. A key issue is that this legislation needs to take account of members of the Defence Forces who received convictions under military law. These people cannot be excluded from this disregard proposal.
Another issue is that we need to broaden the scope of who can submit an application on behalf of a deceased person. We need to be conscious that during the last century, gay people were often shunned, excluded or otherwise disconnected from close familial connections. That needs to be taken into account by allowing a wider network of people to submit an application to this scheme on behalf of a deceased person.
This Bill should also include an acknowledgement that where an application is not made, a person who had a relevant conviction should be generally regarded as exonerated. This is really important in light of the discriminatory nature of their conviction. I wish to hear the Minister's assurances on these matters, and, failing that, I will look at bringing forward further amendments on Report Stage.
I again acknowledge Karl Hayden, who is in the Gallery, and who has been a long-time campaigner in relation to this issue. Brian Sheehan and Kieran Rose, who visited this House yesterday, have been closely following this debate and advocating for these changes for many years, along with my colleagues in Labour LGBT, a very active section within our party. We have come to this point through a lot of campaigning and courage over the years from many different campaigners and many people who have spoken out, as well as the families and friends of those who had a conviction. It is important that we get it right, and it is welcome that progress is being made. I commend my colleague, Deputy Nash, on spearheading this over the years. He has done enormous work on this issue.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-25