Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan has welcomed proposals contained in a new Law Reform Commission report to expunge after seven years the criminal records of those convicted of minor offences.
If enshrined in legislation, the proposals would mean people convicted of such offences would not be required to disclose the offences when applying for jobs.
Mr Lenihan said the concept of convictions becoming spent after a seven-year period "seems to be right in principle".
"I think this is a very worthy report and I'm committed to legislation on it," he told journalists in Dublin yesterday.
Mr Lenihan said the creation of the Garda's Pulse computer system at the end of the 1990s had resulted in the existence of a very large convictions database. A person's criminal record was easier than ever to access and track, meaning the impact on their lives was potentially greater than ever.
However, there was no question of serious convictions being expunged. The new proposals would include only crimes for which people had been sentenced, including suspended sentencing, to six months or less in prison.
The new system would be primarily aimed at one-off offenders who had convictions for minor, non-violent offences such as road traffic matters.
Mr Lenihan said he hoped the measures would become law within the "first half" of the lifetime of the current Government.
However, Mr Justice Kevin Haugh, chairman of the Garda Ombudsman Commission, who launched the report, questioned the proposal in the draft Bill that all civil servant posts would continue to require full disclosure.
The commission highlighted that certain sensitive posts would continue to require disclosure of all convictions, those working with children and other vulnerable people. Also included is any job in healthcare, posts such as judge, barrister, solicitor, court clerk, traffic warden, member of the Defence Forces and gardaí.
Mr Justice Haugh wondered why the Civil Service should exclude reformed persons, who would be "entrusted to private enterprise" only.
Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness, president of the Law Reform Commission, said the commission was neither for nor against such a provision, but "it's just a fact that the Civil Service requires full disclosure". She added that if enacted the new system would cover a lot of offences because 90 per cent of cases were dealt with in the District Court, including cases such as public order offences.
Labour's justice spokesman Brendan Howlin, who welcomed the report, also questioned the Civil Service requirement. It "seems excessive", he said. "This would exclude tens of thousands of people from the right to have their convictions regarded as spent, the vast majority of whom would not be involved in any sensitive work."
Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris said old convictions for petty crime had long been recognised as a barrier to employment "and hence to full rehabilitation".