Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-02 ============================================================ Garret Kelleher (FG), Industrial and Commercial Panel Ba mhaith liom ar dtús mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire, an Teachta O'Callaghan, as ucht teacht isteach go dtí an Seanad tráthnóna chun an mBille a phlé agus chun éisteacht agus labhairt linn mar gheall air agus mar gheall ar na leasuithe éagsúla atá os ár gcomhair. Cuirim fáilte roimh Paula Doyle agus na feisirí feachtas eile atá inár measc, atá tar éis an-chuid oibre a dhéanamh chun an dlí a athrú. Cuirim fáilte rompu go léir. Ó thaobh Cuid 8 den Bhille, agus go háirithe alt 22 atá os ár gcomhair, agus níos leithne fós mar gheall ar an mBille ar fad, níl aon amhras orm ach go bhfuil na Seanadóirí ar fad atá anseo agus an tAire atá ag labhairt faoi na leasuithe ag iarraidh dlí níos fearr a bhaint amach, agus a thuilleadh cosaintí agus tacaíochtaí a thabhairt d’íospartaigh éignithe agus ionsaithe gnéis, ach go háirithe mná agus cailíní. I have no doubt but that everybody contributing to this afternoon's debate, and in particular this discussion about the use of counselling notes in criminal trials, does so in an effort to improve the law in a way that will better support survivors of horrendous crimes, and in particular of sexual violence and rape. The proposed section 22 seeks to rectify a flaw in the existing legislation under which a waiver relating to a restriction around the use of counselling notes has been used more extensively than had been initially envisaged. I thank the Minister for the time he has taken to discuss this matter with other Senators and me, in relation to the legislation we are discussing today. It is very important to point out, and is obvious from the contributions thus far, that there is still a feeling among victims and groups representing victims and survivors that our criminal justice system - the very system that is intended to protect and support our citizens - is failing survivors because of the retraumatisation and additional suffering felt by victims due to the potential availability of personal sensitive information disclosed during counselling sessions to those accused of horrendous crimes against them and the legal defence teams representing them. The case of Paula Doyle has been mentioned on a number of occasions by various contributors to the debate so far. It is important to point out that Paula is a phenomenally courageous campaigner who seeks to improve the law, as we are all trying to do here today, so that what happened to her will not happen to victims in future years. Our job is to try to make the legislation as robust as possible in that regard. Senators McCormack and Stephenson made reference to the case of Ms Doyle. I will not go over what Senator McCormack said in detail but it was expressed articulately by Ms Doyle in her email to us all. In relation to that case, on 56 occasions during the course of counselling, Ms Doyle made reference that what happened to her was her fault. She now realises, having gone through the whole process of dealing with the trauma that resulted from her rape, that it was not her fault. Those 56 instances were still referenced by the legal team in defence of the man who was subsequently convicted of her rape. The character assassination and discrediting of rape victims through the use of counselling notes has been referenced. It is very important we do everything in our power to make that a thing of the past and to be as victim-centred in our approach as possible. Another thing put to Ms Doyle during what she described as her horrendous cross-examination was that she said she was no longer the woman her partner fell in love with. That again was used in an effort to discredit Ms Doyle and it was a horrendous experience for her to have to go through. That is something we have to make sure is in the past with the passing of the legislation today in how we deal with victims of sexual violence. We must make sure not just that the laws are about punishing those who have committed horrendous crimes, largely against women and girls, but also that the women and girls who have been subjected to these horrendous crimes receive the support they deserve. We must ensure our criminal justice system is compassionate in that regard. I have discussed this with the Minister on a number of occasions. I have a concern about the specific reference to the presumption of non-disclosure. It is not implicit in the legislation before us. It is referenced in some of the amendments. I would like it to be given the consideration it deserves. Like others, I would be delighted if we could accept that counselling notes are a matter between an individual and the counsellor to whom they turn for help but as was referenced on previous Stages of this Bill, there is a fear there will be a legal challenge on the constitutionality. I accept that. It has also been accepted by the Labour Party and Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. I will reference another case. I will not mention the person by name because I do not have her permission to do so. She is a victim of rape who appeared before the Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. She said, and I am paraphrasing, that counselling saved her life but if she had been aware that the notes from her counselling sessions would be used against her in court, she would not have gone at all. Senator McCarthy made the valid point that counselling notes are not legal documents, nor are they written by legal professionals. They are an account of the intimate and personal conversations between victims of horrendous crimes and the professionals to whom they have turned in an effort to rebuild their lives. If it were possible and legally sound to completely ban the use of counselling notes in criminal trials, I would favour that. However, with respect to what has been said on previous Stages of this legislation, that unfortunately is not the case. It is our job to make the legislation as robust as possible to ensure it is victim-centred. A number of the concerns raised with me relate to how permission is obtained for counselling notes to be disclosed. It is my understanding that up until now, the DPP would via An Garda Síochána contact the victim to request the person's permission for counselling notes to be disclosed and consent would be given. In subsequent conversations I have had, there seems to be a question mark over whether that consent will continue to be requested and necessary. I ask the Minister to reference that point in his concluding remarks. In the event of the legislation passing, I ask the Minister to make reference to the intended review of the legislation and the likely possible timeline for revisiting the legislation in the event that it proves to be not as legally robust as intended, with specific reference to the presumption of non-disclosure. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-02/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:09+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-07-02