4th Feb 2026
The LGBT+ Restorative Justice Campaign welcomes the decision of the Government, taken at Cabinet this morning (4th Feb), to approve the establishment of a Disregard Scheme for convictions arising from historic anti-gay laws, for which legislation will be brought to the Dáil as amendments to the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026.
“The Government approval of a Disregard Scheme represents a landmark moment in the State’s long and unfinished process of addressing the profound injustices inflicted on gay men through the criminalisation of homosexuality”, said Kieran Rose of the LGBT Restorative Justice Campaign.
Announcing the Government decision, Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan said “The Victorian-era laws that criminalised consensual sexual activity between men are now rightly recognised as a historical injustice. I am extremely pleased that the Government has agreed to my proposals for a statutory disregard scheme which seeks to acknowledge this injustice and to address meaningfully some of the harm caused to affected gay men, as well as their families and friends, during the period of criminalisation.”
The development of a Disregard Scheme follows on from the State apology for the anti-gay laws repealed in 1993, and the recommendations of a Working Group established by the then Minister for Justice which reported in 2023.
“These anti-gay laws were not symbolic or dormant. They were actively used as instruments of surveillance, punishment, and social control. Men prosecuted and convicted under them faced imprisonment, public disgrace, loss of employment, exclusion from family and community life, and lifelong stigma. Many lived in fear of exposure or blackmail. Some never recovered from the trauma of State-sanctioned punishment. Others died before the State acknowledged that what was done to them was wrong. Criminalisation shaped societal attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people more broadly, embedding stigma, legitimising discrimination, and enforcing silence and shame” said Karl Hayden of the LGBT Restorative Justice Campaign.
The Minister for Justice has stated that the legislation to give effect to today’s Government approval of the Disregard Scheme is due to come before the Oireachtas in March. Further details of the Scheme will then be available.
“There is repeated and widespread support across the Oireachtas for the principle that these convictions were unjust and that the State has a responsibility to address that injustice. We look forward to that shared understanding translating into strong, cross-party support for this legislation when it comes to the Oireachtas, to ensure it delivers real, practical justice for those affected” concluded Hayden.
ENDS
LGBT Disregard 