The Government has approved the Disregard Scheme for historical convictions of men arrested, questioned, charged or convicted under former anti-gay laws in Ireland.
The new Disregard Scheme will allow people to apply to have historical convictions linked to sexual identity officially cleared from their records.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission welcomes the Government's approval of the Disregard Scheme, as Chief Commissioner Liam Herrick states:
“The scheme represents an important step towards addressing a long-standing historical injustice experienced by gay and bisexual men who were criminalised under laws that are now recognised as fundamentally incompatible with human rights and equality.”
“Ultimately, today marks a significant milestone in acknowledging a profound historical injustice. For decades, gay and bisexual men were criminalised simply because of who they were and whom they loved."
Following an apology in the Dáil by former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar T.D on the 25th anniversary of the decriminalisation of Homosexuality in June 2018, and a subsequent speech in Dublin Castle, the Government announced the development of a process to expunge convictions under the repealed legislation - recognizing these historical ‘crimes’ are now legal.
Varadkar spoke in the Dáil on that day:
“We have come a long way and we remember those who suffered, and we also acknowledge that we still have more to do. There is always more to do…”
From 1992 to 1993, there were hundreds of convictions of gay and bisexual men under former anti-gay laws in Ireland.
According to the LGBT Disregard initiative:
“The impact of the legislation had a very damaging impact on those arrested, charged, prosecuted or convicted; the threat of prosecution was used to harass gay men, and was considered a blackmailers charter; the existence of the law had a severe effect on the development of the LGBT community, and on the provision of public services, in particular during the Aids crisis;”
The Disregard Scheme will be established by the enactment of the Civil Law, Criminal Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which has been passed by the Seanad today.
