I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to debate this. I welcome the Government's support for the Bill and look forward to debating any amendments on Committee Stage. That is the proper way to do business with the Opposition when a Bill comes forward that the Government does not wholeheartedly agree with because it gives us a chance to discuss amendments. I thank Senator Ruane for the work she has done to bring this legislation to this point. The matter to which it relates is something she is very passionate about. It was mentioned the Bill was introduced in 2018. It is now 2026; we are getting there. It is testament to Senator Ruane's perseverance and tenacity that it has reached this point. I suggest that this Bill was in the making well before 2018. I was involved in similar lines of work and in the same organisations as Senator Ruane in the past ,and we came across an awful lot of people who could have done with this Bill. I thank Deputy Gannon for bringing the Bill to the floor of the Dáil. He was right to acknowledge his staff because they often go unseen in the work they do for us. I was going to say that they make us look good, but they do well to make me look good. Anyway, I acknowledge the work they have done. The purpose of the Bill is to allow a broader range of minor convictions to become spent after a proportionate rehabilitative period. This will make it easy for people who have moved on from past offences to access employment, education, housing and other opportunities without lifelong stigma. I am from an area of high disadvantage. In the course of a debate not that long ago, I mentioned that parts of my area – the area I grew up in – are going backwards on the Pobal deprivation index. It is one of the few areas in Dublin that is regressing instead of progressing. The issue that underlies everything in areas like mine is poverty. It is not just poverty of finances; it is poverty of opportunity and hope. One thing we are not poor in is trauma. Trauma is often intergenerational as a result of the fact that it is historical State-inflicted trauma. I am going back here to the industrial schools, the Christian Brothers, the Magdalen laundries and the mother and baby homes. You can see the outcomes of that intergenerational trauma in areas like mine. The data would indicate that communities like mine are disproportionately affected by crime. Young people from my area, at different times in their lives and on the basis of their current circumstances, will make choices. The choices they make at those times may affect them as they get older. Levels of addiction in areas like mine are also disproportionately higher than in other areas. When a person does not have the opportunity to remove themselves physically from a disadvantaged area, drink and drugs often give them that opportunity. It is not called getting out of your head for nothing, and it can give a person a brief break from trauma. Something communities like mine experience a lot more than other more affluent communities is being stopped and searched. When I was growing up in north Clondalkin, we used to play a game. I would be going to the shop for my mother when I was young and I would be stopped and searched. This happened all the time, so we used to have a game to see whose turn it was to get stopped and searched. We would have nothing apart from our football boots with us; it was just a part of growing up in the area. Due to the number of searches taking place now, you are going to come across a lot more people who may have, say, drugs for personal use in their possession. If a young person gets a charge for personal drug use, it can follow them for the remainder of their lives, whether that is in the context of job opportunities, travel or housing. I will give an example. I have been advocate for the Irish homeless football team for a long time. I referred people to the team over the years. Senator Ruane did the same. Sean Kavanagh and his team give people who have experienced homelessness or addiction an opportunity to play football weekly. This culminates in an all-Ireland event, which, as the Minister of State knows, is held every year in Kiltipper is in his constituency. Teams from all over the State play in the tournament, and there is an all-Ireland champion at the end of it. During that process, there is also an opportunity to represent your country by travelling abroad and playing for the Irish team at the Homeless World Cup. Players only get this opportunity once. That is to give everybody a fair chance. If you represent your country one time, that is your chance gone and it is someone else's turn. I have trained with the lads every so often and know that the standard of football is really high. The competition is recognised and supported by the FAI. The players who represent their country abroad at the Homeless World Cup receive international caps. The caps are the same as the ones Roy Keane, Robbie Keane and Paul McGrath received. It is the dream of every boy and young woman interested in soccer to represent their country, and it is a fantastic achievement for the players who are selected. The Ireland team’s best result was in 2005 when they finished fifth in the competition in Scotland. It has completed all over the world, including in Korea and Africa. The players have represented their country with pride. There has even been a film made. Colin Farrell made a documentary, which was very good, about it a couple of years ago. In 2023, the Homeless World Cup was held in America. The players went through all their trials. They went out weekly and took part in the all-Ireland event, probably up in Kiltipper. What should have been one of the proudest movements of their lives quickly turned sour. The majority of the men’s team were refused visas to travel to America. The result was that for the very first time since the inception of the Homeless World Cup, our men’s team was not able to participate. The reason they were not allowed into America related to minor convictions they picked up when they were affected by addiction, homelessness or maybe just as a result of being from areas of disadvantage. One of the coaches who dedicates his time to looking after these lads was also refused entry. He had a conviction from decades ago, not last week or last year. He has been giving his life to give these lads a better chance. This is a real-life example of how minor convictions can follow someone for life. No matter how much an individual has grown as a person or how much they have contributed to society in the meantime, previous convictions can follow them. Sinn Féin supports the Bill. The next challenge is to get it onto the agenda of the justice committee. It is to be hoped it will progress from there. I look forward to any further debates. With Government support, I would like to see this progress over the next couple of months. Again, I thank Senator Ruane for the dedicated work she has done to get the Bill to this stage. I have introduced legislation, as has Deputy Gannon. It is really difficult from the Opposition to get anything to this Stage. The fact that she has managed to do it is a testament and it gives me a little bit of hope that if we just keep plugging away, we might get something through as well.

Sentiment score: 0.14