I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am very proud to stand here this evening to introduce the Criminal Justice (Rehabilitative Periods) Bill to the Dáil. This is legislation that has been championed for years, since 2018, by my friend and colleague in the Seanad, Senator Lynn Ruane. I want to acknowledge her work on this Bill from the outset. It is a Bill rooted in lived experience, in real communities and in the simple belief that people can change their lives. I also want to acknowledge the fact that we are seeing something that does not always happen in this Chamber - broad agreement from the Government that reform in this area is necessary and overdue. I acknowledge the Minister of State for supporting the progression of this legislation because I believe that consensus and coming to an agreement in the Chamber matters on areas of importance such as this. It matters to the thousands of people across the country who have done everything society has asked of them - people who have served their sentence, stayed out of trouble and worked to rebuild their lives but who continue to carry the weight of a past conviction long after they have moved on, rebuilt and repaid their debt to society. That is what this Bill seeks to address. At its heart, this legislation is about rehabilitation. It is about second chances and recognising that rehabilitation and recovery are both possible, and recognition of that is necessary from those who create legislation. This legislation simply means that after a person has completed their sentence and lived for a sustained period without reoffending, they should not be forced to carry that conviction with them forever in every aspect of their lives. It does not erase the conviction. It does not rewrite history or heal the hurt for victims but it allows people, after demonstrating rehabilitation, to move forward, particularly when it comes to education, employment and general participation in society. The evidence is very clear. When people have access to employment, education and stability, reoffending drops and communities, by consequence, become safer. When people have access to employment, education and stability, reintegration into society is a societal value as a whole. Yet, the reality is that Ireland’s current spent convictions system is extremely narrow and conservative. Under the existing law, many people simply cannot qualify for a spent conviction at all. A single additional conviction can exclude someone permanently, regardless of how long ago those offences occurred or how dramatically their life has changed since. That means people who offended years or sometimes decades ago and who have since turned their lives around completely remain locked out of opportunities to give back. I refer to people who have gone back to education, overcome addiction, addressed their trauma and are trying to build stable lives for themselves and their families. Yet, the door to employment or opportunity can still be closed to them because of something they did years earlier and have sought to make amends for in every single year that has passed. As Senator Ruane has said so powerfully when speaking about this issue in the Seanad, these archaic laws mean that people who have not offended for years and who have done everything they can to rebuild their lives are still unable to move forward. That is not justice and it is not smart policy either. Rehabilitation in the criminal justice system has to really mean something in practice. This Bill broadens the range of convictions that can become spent while maintaining clear exclusions for serious offences. It removes the arbitrary cap on the number of convictions that can become spent. It introduces proportionate rehabilitative periods that better reflect the seriousness of the offence and the age of the person at the time. It extends eligibility for sentences that can qualify. It shortens rehabilitative periods for young people, recognising the importance of giving them a second chance to move forward. Importantly, it introduces protections so that people cannot be discriminated against in employment simply because they do not disclose a conviction that has been legally spent. These are practical, sensible reforms that bring Ireland closer to international best practice in rehabilitative justice. They recognise a basic truth - that if someone has served their sentence and stayed out of trouble for years afterwards, they deserve the opportunity to move forward with their lives. For so many people, the barriers created by our current system show up in very real ways, with people who are unable to apply for jobs, who are excluded from training or educational opportunites, or who are trying to participate in their community - volunteering, coaching sports teams and contributing in positive ways - but are held back by past mistakes that continue to follow them everywhere they try to go. As the Minister of State knows, I represent an area where we see so clearly how crime is inextricably linked with societal disadvantage. Issues like poverty, trauma and addiction are realities that shape people’s lives. When I think about how lucky I am to hold the justice portfolio for my party - a responsibility I take enormously seriously - I often think about the people I have met not just in this role but in all the roles that have led me to the one I hold. I refer to people I have spoken to through prison visits; people who have come through the justice system; and people who have made enormous efforts to rebuild their lives after incredibly difficult circumstances. I often think about how incredibly valuable it would be if our systems were more informed by the lived experience of people who have actually been through them. It is something Senator Ruane has said before: just imagine the benefit to our social workers, social care teams, teachers and gardaí if we stopped standing in the way of people who have already done the work to change their lives, despite the wrongs of their past. If someone does the work to change their life, if they stay out of trouble and try to contribute positively to society, then surely the State should support that journey and not block it. Failing to support rehabilitation and keeping people on the margins of society benefits absolutely nobody. So many people who will benefit from this legislation committed relatively minor offences during really difficult periods in their lives and we know that people can and do change. We see the benefits of that in our communities every single day. This legislation simply recognises that change. It recognises the courage it takes for people to rebuild their lives and the role the State must play in supporting the process. I again acknowledge Senator Ruane’s leadership on this issue and the heart she brings to her advocacy, which is driven by constant community engagement and backed by reams of research. Her work has helped to bring this issue from the margins into the centre of policy discussion. I am genuinely proud to play a part in the legislation being brought forward today because, ultimately, this bill is about believing that people have a role to play in contributing to society and that the mistakes in people's past should not weigh them down forever. It is about ensuring that when the work is done, people can rebuild their lives. It is an important and meaningful step forward. It will help people to access employment, families to build stability and communities to become stronger. It does not take away the hurt, but it recognises that people are more than their worst day. Many of us have heard it said that if you cannot do the time, you should not do the crime and I absolutely accept that. When crimes are committed, there are victims, there is hurt and restitution and justice are required. However, once the time is done, lives still have to be lived. They have to be rebuilt and today we can go some way towards making that process a little fairer on the scales of justice. Before I conclude, I thank the staff in my office, Ms Eleanor O'Donovan and Ms Caitlin Hennessy, who I give an awful time to. Sometimes it is with legislation like this that I see the real work and the heart they bring to the work we are doing in the Dáil today. The fact that this Bill is passing Second Stage is a testament to their work, to the communities who told their personal stories and gave testimony and to the work and advocacy of Senator Ruane. I look forward to hearing the discussion.

Sentiment score: 0.18

It is never not a privilege to stand in this Chamber. Ever single day I take a breath and realise how important the work is that happens here, but this evening was a genuine privilege. It was a real honour to be here to discuss an issue that too often went undiscussed. I thank the Ministers of State for their contributions and the Department officials for their engagement. I look forward to bringing it to Committee Stage alongside Senator Ruane. I thank Deputies Heneghan and Ward for their contributions. It was genuinely lovely to hear the kind words said about Senator Ruane and her passion and conviction for bringing a Bill of this importance to the Chamber. Given the fact that I mentioned my own staff in our office, it would be remiss of me not to mention Lynn's parliamentary assistant, Robert Somerville, who is in the Gallery today and has also done amazing work in bringing this forward. Days like today show what can be achieved in politics with some perseverance. The capacity to work collaboratively across the Chamber and the fact that this is progressing to Third Stage is a reflection of nobody else's but Senator Ruane's heart, commitment and effort. The Government has referred to some amendments. Lots of them have merit in them and I look forward to engaging on them at the committee.

Sentiment score: 0.45