11th June 2026
Justice for those persecuted under the former anti-gay laws in Ireland.
The Dáil last night voted to pass the Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 which includes a Disregard Scheme that provides redress to gay men for the harms done to them through unjust laws, which were repealed thirty-three years ago.
“The Bill passed last night rights a profound and historic injustice. It is a landmark moment for LGBTI+ rights and for human rights in Ireland. Men will no longer carry the consequences of laws that should never have existed in the first place” said Kieran Rose of the LGBT+ Restorative Justice Campaign.
“While the Disregards Scheme cannot undo the trauma of persecution, it will nullify any convictions for consensual same-sex activity and remove the stain of a criminal record,” said Rose.
“It took decades of campaigning to repeal the Victorian-era anti-gay laws carried into the State on Independence. Senator David Norris won a crucially important case in the European Court of Human Rights in 1988 that led to full decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993. On the 25th anniversary of that repeal, the State offered an apology to those persecuted under the laws, and recognised the harms the laws did to the broader LGBTI+ community. It has taken a further seven years of campaigning to get to last night’s legislation which will provide some redress to those who lives were severely blighted by cruel laws that criminalised ordinary loving relationships” said Brian Sheehan of the LGBT+ Restorative Justice Campaign.
“We would like to thank the many people who have supported this campaign for justice, including LGBT+ organisations across the country. Members of the Oireachtas have been instrumental in driving legislative change, including Ged Nash TD who first brought a redress Bill to the Dáil in 2018, and Aengus O’Snodaigh TD who brought a Disregards Bill, supported by opposition parties, to the Dáil earlier this year, and many members of the Oireachtas who spoke movingly of the need for justice. The Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan TD, has introduced a comprehensive Bill that creates a pathway for men to right a wrong done to them by the State, and for family members to clear the record of their deceased relatives” said Karl Hayden of the LGBT+ Restorative Justice Campaign.
“Members of the opposition raised some of the key omissions in the Bill, including provision for those dishonourably discharged from the Military in similar circumstances, exclusion of those convicted pre-independence, limitations on those who can make an application for a deceased person and on the time limit for applications. The Minister indicated that he would be open to amendments on some of those issues which we hope will be rectified as the Bill now progresses through the Seanad” concluded Sheehan.
ENDS
LGBT Disregard 