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LAST UPDATE | 6 Jan 2022
A WORKING GROUP tasked with examining how the Irish State could exonerate gay men charged with convictions under laws that have since been repealed is due to submit a progress report to the Government later this month.
The group’s final report is due to be published in Q3 of this year, possibly paving the way for the exoneration process to begin before the end of 2022, The Journal has confirmed.
Hundreds of gay men were charged in the 20th century under legislation that no longer exists. Homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland on 24 June 1993.
Convictions for consensual sexual acts were rare in the years leading up to decriminalisation but were common up to and throughout the 1970s.
Research carried out by Professor Diarmaid Ferriter found that between 1940 and 1978 an average of 13 men a year were jailed for homosexual offences. Between 1962 and 1972, there were 455 convictions.
There have been renewed calls for such convictions to be quashed after the British Home Office announced that a pardons scheme in the UK will be extended to cover all gay sex convictions imposed under laws that have since been repealed.
Announcing the plans on Tuesday, British Home Secretary Priti Patel said the move was aimed at “righting the wrongs of the past”.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said that since its establishment, the working group “has considered a range of complex issues relating to the development of any scheme to disregard the criminal convictions of men convicted for consensual same-sex sexual acts prior to decriminalisation in 1993″.
They confirmed that a progress report summarising the key issues and the next steps is due to be submitted by the group to Justice Minister Helen McEntee later this month, prior to the group’s final report later this year.
A Bill to exonerate gay and bisexual people convicted of crimes received cross-party support when presented to the Oireachtas by Labour Senator Ged Nash in 2016.
There were two strands to that proposal – the first involved a State apology, something that happened in June 2018 on the 25th anniversary of decriminalisation.
The second strand, called for the people in question to be exonerated. This resulted in the establishment of a working group consisting of representatives from the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochána, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), the Office of the Attorney General and three individuals from the LGBTI+ community with expertise in this area.
Speaking to The Journal, Nash, who is now a TD, welcomed the fact the working group is due to submit a progress report in the coming weeks and its final report later this year.
Nash said the process of exonerating people who were convicted of offences that are no longer on the statute books is “obviously a more complicated process” than the apology, as significant as that was. However, he said the State must move forward on the issue.
“It is absolutely intrinsic in terms of a proper reckoning with the past. I hope the working group designs an appropriate system that we could put in place for a series of exonerations for men who were convicted of a broad range of offences that have since been abolished.”
Welcome news from the UK.
— Ged Nash TD (@geraldnash) January 4, 2022
The second element of the process @labour started (first part was the 2018 State apology) is the question of disregards for/expungement of historical convictions & the issue of exonerations.
Progress must be made in 2022 on such a scheme. @labourlgbt https://t.co/EImqeNzksY
Nash said the Irish State inherited “draconian laws” from Britain which were used to prosecute gay men in particular.
Several pieces of legislation were repealed in 1993 – from as far back as 1842 and 1887, with the main legislation dating from 1861 and 1885. That legislation was brought through the House of Commons rather than the Oireachtas, but Irish governments defended it for most of the 20th century.
Nash said it is important to use the term exonerate, rather than pardon, in this context.
When we talk about pardons, we then suggest that what men were engaged in was wrong, but that was not the case. The laws of the time viewed consensual sexual activities between same-sex partners as wrong. I don’t believe that ever should have been the case.
“Ireland has to recognise that and that’s why we refer to this process of exoneration and disregard of criminal convictions, rather than referring to them as pardons which suggests that the activity was wrong.”
Nash is hopeful that, if the working group’s final report is published as planned later this year, the exoneration process could be implemented before the end of 2022.
‘Lives were ruined’
Adam Long, board director of the National LGBT Federation (NXF), echoed these sentiments, saying that exonerating people of such convictions would send an important message.
“These laws ruined lives, absolutely ruined lives. The bare minimum at this stage that the State could do would be to try and undo some of that wrong by removing the convictions.”
Long told The Journal that while it’s welcome the working group is due to send a progress report this month, the process should be prioritised and now “drawn out”.
He said Ireland should learn from Northern Ireland and not make the process of exoneration “too onerous” on individuals. Only a very small number of men have appealed for pardons in Northern Ireland since the option was opened to them in recent years, and a number have had their applications turned down.
The process should not be made too onerous, and we don’t want to re-traumatise people either, we should make it easy for them. If a person has a conviction for an activity that would not be illegal today, then it should be completely and utterly removed from their record.
Long said developments in the UK this week are “very welcome” and he hopes Ireland follows suit.
There is clearly momentum around this issue, and that’s important because grave, grave injustices were carried out. It’s also fairly recent, we’re not talking hundreds of years ago, homosexuality was only decriminalised here in 1993.
Long said the apology by the Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan to gay people in 2018 was had “huge symbolic value” but now the Government must move to fully exonerate those affected.
He said people who were convicted under since-repealed laws did nothing wrong and should not have to acknowledge they have criminal convictions in circumstances such as when applying for a job or voluntary role.
“The logical follow-on from the State apology would be exoneration. Let’s call it what it was: State-sanctioned homophobia. Nobody, literally nobody, in this day and age should have such homophobic convictions on their records today.”
UK plans
Announcing plans in the UK this week, Patel said more people would have convictions for same-sex sexual activity wiped from their records, as she sought to expand the Government’s Disregards and Pardons scheme from a narrow set of laws.
Currently, just nine former offences are included on a specified list which the Home Office said “largely focused on the repealed offences of buggery and gross indecency between men”.
If someone had been convicted of a crime under these now scrapped laws, they can apply to have it disregarded – wiped from their criminal record and not be required to be disclosed.
But an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will broaden the criteria to include any repealed or abolished civilian or military offence that was imposed on someone purely for, or due to, consensual same-sex sexual activity.
All those whose cautions and convictions are disregarded under the scheme will also receive an automatic pardon, and anyone who has died before the changes came into place – or up to 12 months afterwards – will be posthumously pardoned.
Patel said: “It is only right that where offences have been abolished, convictions for consensual activity between same-sex partners should be disregarded too.
“I hope that expanding the pardons and disregards scheme will go some way to righting the wrongs of the past and to reassuring members of the LGBT community that Britain is one of the safest places in the world to call home.”
She thanked peers Michael Cashman, a member of the House of Lords and former MEP, and others for their long-running campaign calling for exoneration.
In a statement to the PA news agency Cashman; Alistair Cooke, also a member of the House of Lords; and Professor Paul Johnson welcomed the news.
“For five years, the three of us have been working together on behalf of gay people in the armed forces and in civilian life, who suffered grave injustice because of cruel laws which discriminated against them in the past.
“Now that Parliament has repealed those laws, it has a duty to wipe away the terrible stains which they placed, quite wrongly, on the reputations of countless gay people over the centuries.
“The existing legal arrangements to do this are too narrowly drawn. Many gay people who were the victims of past injustice are excluded from them. This is particularly true of individuals in our armed forces, brave people whose careers serving our country were suddenly destroyed.
The men said they are “delighted” their long campaign “will at last bring many gay people, both living and deceased, the restitution they deserve”.
The Home Office said conditions would still need to be met in order for a disregard and pardon to be granted, including that anyone else involved must have been aged 16 or over and the sexual activity must not constitute an offence today.
Similar exonerations have occurred in Germany, Canada and parts of Australia.
Contains reporting from PA
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I think it’s very important that a doctor tells you’ve got a food allergy
A trained medical doctor !
Not some health shop or self diagnosed
Food intolerance website
Jeff if I waited for a doctor to tell me what was wrong I’d be dead by now. Doctors treat blood tests not people. I went to an excellent nutritionist who treated me and despite being dog sick with anything I ate or drank managed to get me back to a place where once it’s gluten free I’m fine. It took nearly 2 years hard work and I have to be careful but I’m healthy.
You should mention allergies when booking your table you’ll find there is no fuss rather than assuming everybody should be knowable about your allergy and your specific requirements. Then at least you know before you go
We always do and often it makes no difference at all sorry to say. We don’t expect everyone to be knowledgable about our specific requirements but Ireland has a very high incidence of Coeliac disease as it’s more common in Irish people and people of Irish decent. The point I am making us that some restaurants claim to cater for people with coeliac disease ( which is an auto immune disease ) . I don’t think it’s too much to assume they have some level if knowledge is that case . Often though cross contamination is the main issue and when you are really sick because someone used the wrong serving spoon it’s pretty easy to be annoyed.
My son is Coeliac and lactose intolerant . Eating out is a nightmare. Listing ingredients is great but staff need educating on cross contamination too. My poor son has ended up very ill because of so called gluten free options that clearly got contaminated from other foods. I just don’t eat out with him now. It’s safer .
Catherine I understand – I’ve Coeliac disease too, and even a crumb would make me very ill.
Many restaurants do produce GF food, only for it to be cross-contaminated with gluten during serving; like using the same spoons to serve, or dropping crumbs on the GF meal.
Things are improving though. There are a few fantastic places, but it depends where u are based.
Believe it or not, Mcdonald’s is good (I’ve a 6 year old!) with gluten clearly marked on the menu sheet- the underside of the sheet they put on each tray.
Antoinette’s bakery in Kevin st, Dublin is a totally GF café. No chance of cross contamination.
Da Mario’s in Celbridge is an amazing restaurant, extremely high awareness of Coeliac condition.
For fish and chips, Beshoff’s, Mespil road can’t be beaten and they clean down according to advice from the Coeliac Society of Ireland.
Even Starbucks have a delicious GF bap with ham and cheese, and you can ask for a wrapped piece of hazelnut & chocolate cake, or a wrapped chocolate brownie thus avoiding any cross contamination.
The problem with restaurants and especially the smaller ones is not just a lack of knowledge on the part of the front of house staff but also the kitchen. In many smaller places the food comes from places like Musgrave and Palladium Foods and is pre par pared and frozen. Other than following the basic cooking instructions the chefs knowledge of the product is limited. HSE at the moment ask only they be trained in hygiene. Ask someone in an Italian, Chinese, Thai or burger joint about lactose or sulphur s and they would have to admit to not understanding what they have in their kitchen. What are the constituents of mustard and ketchup is not part of general training. But let me be clear here, I am not blaming the small operator, they work long hours, pay exorbitant taxes and – especially these days – get very little return for the labour invested. I think the HSE have to get real here and demand and offer (free) training for these outlets and large food firms should produce notices about their products which should be posted in public. Staff should be trained of course, but the nature of this workplace means a high turnover of personal which managers and owners find hard to keep apace with. Share the burden and people will quickly adapt.
I find restaurants biggest downfall is gf dessert. You ask for the icecream which they assure you is gluten free. Then they stick a wafer in it. So it has to be sent back and then they send out the same dish with the wafer removed. And look at you like you’ve ten heads when you tell them that it’s contaminated and you can’t eat it.
We find McDonalds fantastic too but he is a bit fed up of that being his only eating out treat but it’s food you only give in moderation really. There is maybe one or two good places down here in the mid west but our recent holiday around Co Clare was a disaster . The only place he didn’t get sick after was one place that didn’t normally do GF but sorted something for him and it’s clear they took great care and he was fine after it. We have soup cafe in Limerick which are fantastic I have to say .
What a massive entitled whine.
There are kids who are allergic to almost everything so the staff just aren’t going to be knowledgeable about every single allergen . They have a dozen tables and just deliver the food. They don’t know the makeup of every constantly changing dish.
Just a quick ring ahead that day to the restaurant and there wouldn’t be an issue. Either the maitre d could give them all the details beforehand or one of the staff would be ready when they arrived.
But leaving it till you get there to talk to busy staff at peak times is just entitled.
I worked with kids who were allergic to legumes, grains, nuts, dairy and everything you can think off. The parents called ahead, sent binders with info, dropped down beforehand and met with the staff. They had it down pat and it wasn’t an issue because of it.
You don’t need it all on the main menu. You just have 1 or 2 separate menus that staff can give to customers when asked with the ingredients if everything on it. Let’s be honest they’ll still put that it may have been contaminated somewhere else. I make food and bring it to restaurants with me for my little one. Anaphylaxis is not something I want to see occur again
I never eat out in restaurants because of this, imagine explaining to someone, no grains(wheat,rye,barely,rice,corn etc) , no dairy and no white sugar? It’s better to stay at home and cook and make deserts that I know exactly what is in them.
There are some restaurants which can cater too such needs in Ireland. Not many but they are there.
Its very difficult to find a restaurant that has grain free options on the menu and for this reason I dont eat out
Mustn’t have allergies so. I’d everything in the picture with relish .
Seriously!! Thumbs down for not having an allergy. That’s a good thing.
It must be because people with allergies are self obsessed.
The sooner the chefs stop piling salt & sugar into food the better.
It’s almost impossible to get food that isn’t drowned or cooked in the stuff.
I’m allergic to chocolate. Its a nightmare getting desserts. Even last week I asked for vanilla ice cream and explained I’m allergic to chocolate. And out it came with a chocolate wafer on it. But worse still I got married last year and from day one told the hotel I was allergic and went thru the whole story. The day before I went thru it again and was made sure that the kitchen would be chocolate free. They wrote congratulations in chocolate on my dessert plate. Hiw bloody stupid. Some places just dont care about allergies.
That’s pretty bad, no excuse when they are informed beforehand.
What happens if you have chocolate then ? Have you been medically diagnosed by a doctor as having an actual allergy and not just an intolerance ?
Yeah diagnosed and all. Its an allergy not just intolerance. Took a few yrs to diagnose properly after tons of tests.
That’s a great story Eoin… really breathtaking. Now, hopefully you’ve learnt that the world doesn’t revolve around you and if you’re unfortunate enough to be allergic to chocolate, it is your responsibility to ensure you don’t eat it. Not everyone else’s. But are the movie rights still available for that masterpiece you just told us?
I have food allergies so understand the fear. Must be extra hard with kids. Might be difficult for some – but I think i’d check out the menu online beforehand and an Italian restaurant in Ireland would not be somewhere I’d choose hoping for diary allergy free food. They generally use a lot of cream & dairy.
It will be great to have more awareness and education for staff soon. Much needed.
She just wants to complain.
Most eastern food has little no dairy in it. Thai or Chinese or Vietnamese and it’s very unlikely to have dairy.
Or just call ahead and ask so they have time to check. Instead of waiting till the worst possible time.
I have issues with low fat milk as it causes me to have a very upset stomach – a nightmare when eating out. It would be great if the glycemic index and carbohydrate details were listed for food as well for diabetic’s. I think that a lot of people are alergic to something and agree that we should at least know what is in our food if eating out.
Why should waiting staff have to be trained and knowledgable in your particular issue? These people are generally paid terribly low wages and are working there as a stop-gap, not as food prep and allergy specialists. The waiting staff don’t cook the food. I suggest that the next time you want to eat out, call ahead and ask to speak to the chief who prepares the food so that they can tell you directly and save you making a wasted journey.
I’m sure there are actually a lot of people out there who are not allergic but are quite intolerant to certain food groups or types. So this new rule helps a lot of people.
I’m very intolerant of fish and other seafoods. It’s not as hard to avoid that but I’m – to a lesser extent – intolerant of dairy and gluten. Thankfully I have the choice as to whether or not I want to feel crap (unlike people who are actually allergic) sometimes the pizza or huge slab of cheesecake is worth it.
Most people who think they have allergies are in fact food intolerant , of which I have myself. Food allergies are quite rare.
I am a fish lover however I’m intolerant to Molluscs they make me violently sick very quickly but thankfully I don’t go into anphalactic shock at all. I find most restaurants are quite helpful but almost always they refer to the chef which makes me feel a lot safer. I’ve worked in kitchens and ingredients can be changed during the day if they run out of something its always safer to get the chefs ok I think.
Food allergies & intolerances are no joke. My daughter has a nut allergy & the amount of times people have suggested she’s being fussy or insinuated that we’re over protective is mind boggling. Parties are a nightmare, we bring a lunchbox of food & safe cake to avoid her sitting watching others enjoy treats.
I have an intolerance to wheat- so yes if I get wheat in a meal out I wont seem ill at the time, however a week of bloating, pain & semi-religious experiences in the bathroom mean I am adamant I dont want any wheat!
Waiting staff ARE responsible for food too. I have worked in catering in the past & I was trained to represent the chef & ethos of the restaurant in front of the customer. Professional front of house staff can make or break a customers experience. In the case of allergies the stakes are higher than usual.
What kind of wait staff don’t understand the word ‘dairy’? Sounds a bit far fetched; I have a dairy and wheat intolerance and I have found wait staff to be most helpful and accommodating in several restaurants around the country.
Not that far fetched. Asked a server if there was any dairy in one of the potato dishes on offer and was told yes so other creamy potatoes were loaded onto my plate and when I said ‘oh no I can’t eat those’ I was told ‘oh you’re fine, it’s just cream’ :-/
I’ve worked as a waitress for years and most staff aren’t trained to understand this, I’ve been met with blank stares when requesting dairy free dishes before too. Not so far fetched actually.
I have lactose intolerance. It’s not the worst of the food intolerances, but you do have to ask, as dairy is used in a lot of dishes…
Anapen or Epipen should be in every restaurant and every flight. Just in case your waitress or chef doesn’t understand your allergy.
It is useful to have a card with all your info on it so the waitress can give one to the chef . That way it is clear what you can’t have.
Look after yourself. You can’t expect other people to .
I wish I was able to express myself better because reading this I got very annoyed. I think its something to do with how petty all this is. Is there not enough important things going on in the world at the moment you could use your column inches on?
Im am very happy about this. I am lactoce intolerant and the waiters often get it wrong or there is hidden dairy in sauces which leads to me being ill. I eat without worry now
I had take away this evening from Bombay Pantry and the menu was very useful as they had detailed allergy info in symbols beside the names of the dishes. Hopefully a sign of things to come.
Also as somebody who worked as a waitress in my late teens, I always took customers with allergies seriously. While in some cases I may have been sure of the content of dishes, I always checked with the head chef and informed the customer accordingly. As a paying customer, you deserve a certain standard of service from the waiter/waitress, inclusive of their knowledge of the menu (and bothering to check with the chef if neccessary).
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