Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-25
============================================================

Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I move amendment No. 33:
In page 45, line 2, after “relative” to insert “, partner, or other demonstrably trusted person to the relevant person”
I am moving this amendment on behalf of the Civil Engagement Group, with its permission. I will speak to the amendment initially. It seeks, on page 45, line 2 of the Bill, after "relative", to insert "partner, or other demonstrably trusted person to the relevant person". The amendment proposes to extend the provision that allows for relatives of a deceased person to apply for the disregard of convictions or determinations against them to the person's surviving partner or another demonstrably trusted person. As drafted, the Bill prevents persons other than close relatives of the deceased person from applying for a disregard of historic convictions or determinations. The disregard scheme is designed to allow individuals or their representatives to apply to have historic convictions for consensual same-sex sexual activity to be disregarded. The Bill, as drafted, refers only to a relative in setting out who may act on behalf of a relevant person. It fails to take account of the lived realities of many LGBTQIA+ people, particularly those who are elderly or who have sadly already deceased. I outlined my own concerns in this regard under the previous relevant section. Amendment No. 33 seeks to address this by broadening the definition to include a "partner, or other demonstrably trusted person to the relevant person". The amendment seeks to ensure that the process by which a historic conviction can be disregarded or expunged is accessible, inclusive and reflective of the lived realities of LGBTQIA+ people. It acknowledges that many historically relied-on partners are chosen family rather than relatives, with whom they may have had strained relationships or from whom they may have been estranged. Having moved this amendment on behalf of the Civil Engagement Group, I will withdraw it after the Minister has responded.

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

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