The Dáil approved the Disregard Scheme on Wednesday, June 15, which will provide redress for men harmed by Ireland’s since-repealed anti-gay laws, as part of the government’s Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. 

The Disregard Scheme aims to allow men arrested, questioned, prosecuted or convicted for consensual same-sex activity to remove the stain of criminality from their records. According to a recent Oireachtas Library research report, at least 1,690 men were prosecuted under anti-gay laws between 1950 and 1993, 941 of whom were convicted of a crime. 

The Bill passed in the Dáil with overwhelming cross-party support on June 10 and was approved again on Wednesday after minor provisions from the Seanad, completing its passage through the Oireachtas.  

“This is also a landmark and historic moment for human rights and LGBTQ+ equality in Ireland,” said Kieran Rose from the LGBT Restorative Justice Campaign.

“Decades of campaigning have led to this point where redress is now possible for those men persecuted under the anti-gay laws. Following decriminalisation in 1993 and the State apology in 2018, this legislation will finally remove the stain of these unjust convictions from the records of those affected.”

Ireland became one of the only countries to formally apologise for men who were criminalised for homosexuality in 2018, with a State apology from the first openly gay Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar.

Now, the passage of the Disregard Scheme makes Ireland one of the few countries to create a pathway to clear the records of gay and bisexual men wrongfully prosecuted under anti-gay laws. Under this Scheme, families of men who have passed may also receive redress. 

“The real challenge will be ensuring the Scheme reaches as many of those men as possible, many of whom emigrated, and that it provides trauma-informed support to them, or to their relatives where they have died, so they can clear their records and achieve some measure of redress for the wrongs done to them by the State”, said Brian Sheehan of the LGBT Restorative Justice Campaign.

“We will continue to work on outstanding issues to ensure that the Disregard Scheme will be sufficiently robust and flexible so that everyone unjustly convicted can obtain meaningful redress”, added Karl Hayden.

This Disregards Bill was first introduced by Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD earlier this year, and received cross-party support. It will next appear in front of President Catherine Connolly for consideration and approval. Once it is signed, the Disregard Scheme can begin.