No one has received a pardon under Northern Ireland's disregard scheme for historical gay sex offences since it began operating in 2018.

The Department of Justice confirmed that three people have applied, but none met the scheme's criteria. The figures were released in response to a freedom of information request.

The scheme allows people convicted of offences that are no longer crimes to apply to have their convictions disregarded. It covers offences such as gross indecency and procuring others to commit homosexual acts. To qualify, the activity must have been consensual, involved someone aged 17 or over, and not still be an offence today.

Male homosexual acts were illegal in Northern Ireland until 1982. The law creating the pardon scheme was passed by the assembly in 2016 and took effect two years later.

Posthumous pardons apply automatically to anyone convicted of such offences who has since died. The department says a review of the scheme's scope is under way, with proposals expected to be put to ministers after the next assembly elections.

The Rainbow Project, a charity supporting LGBTQ+ people, assisted some of those who applied. Its chief executive, Scott Cuthbertson, said he was not surprised by the low uptake but argued the scheme has still been successful in sending a message that convictions before 1982 were wrong.

Cuthbertson encouraged anyone with such a conviction to apply, saying it is worth it despite concerns about revisiting the past. He welcomed the department's review and said more awareness would help increase uptake.

Jeffrey Dudgeon, a gay rights campaigner whose legal case led to decriminalisation, said he always expected few eligible applicants given the time that has passed. Many of those convicted have died or are not interested in resurrecting the matter, he said.

Prof Tom Hulme from Queen's University Belfast said the history of same sex convictions is complex. He noted that after 1982, laws against public sex were used disproportionately against gay and bisexual men, and those convictions are not covered by the current scheme.

Hulme said a broader public conversation about the conditions under which gay and bisexual men sought sex and the role of police could provide another form of redress.

In England and Wales, a similar scheme was extended in 2023 to include more people. Since then, 19 convictions were eligible for disregard in the year to March 2026, down from 35 the previous year. Before the extension, 522 people applied and 208 convictions were eligible.

In Scotland, 22 people have applied and 16 applications have been granted since 2019.