Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-04
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

It is unfair of the Deputy to use the language that she has used in identifying the Government's response. The Minister, Jim O'Callaghan, has seized on this issue and the legislation is anything but the status quo . The Minister is going as far as he possibly can within constitutional limits. A complete ban or a blanket ban on the disclosure of counselling records is simply unconstitutional. That is the very strong advice from the Attorney General, and indeed other legal advice has confirmed that. The Minister is going as far as he possibly can. From now on, if counselling records are sought by the defence, a judge will scrutinise the material and make an impartial and objective decision on whether disclosure is necessary in the interest of justice.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-04/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:35+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-04