QUESTION to the Minister for Justice and Equality (Ms. Fitzgerald)
For WRITTEN on Tuesday, 18th November, 2014.
To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality when she expects the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill to be passed by Dáil Éireann and subsequently enacted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. – Jerry Buttimer
REPLY
The Bill has passed Committee Stage in the Dáil, having passed all stages in the Seanad. However, before the Bill could be taken at Report Stage, a 2013 UK Court of Appeal judgment necessitated a review of the disclosure provisions in both the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 and the Spent Convictions Bill. That review has been completed and amendments to the Vetting Act and consequential amendments to the Spent Convictions Bill are currently being drafted. The Bill will be enacted at the earliest opportunity. Pending the amendment of the Bill, an Administrative Filter for Garda Vetting Disclosures has been introduced, which provides that certain minor offences that are over 7 years old are no longer disclosed.