Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-20
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Ivana Bacik (LAB), Dublin Bay South

I thank the Taoiseach for his response and his commitment to strengthening supports further. The reality is the institutions of the State, in too many ways, are still not supporting victims of abuse. I will give two examples. First, hours were spent at the justice committee yesterday debating laws on the disclosure of counselling notes in rape trials when we all know that simply should not happen. Deputy Kelly has been working with the Minister and putting amendments on that, and indeed working with the Rape Crisis Ireland on it. Second, perpetrators of domestic violence in far too many cases are using the courts by way of abusing victims further.
Last week, I attended the launch of the Right to Transparency campaign at which we heard harrowing testimonies from women and their families who have been through the family court system. One grandfather described how his daughter had fled an abusive relationship barefoot in her pyjamas with a broken jaw. Her abuser received a sentence, but a suspended one, in the criminal courts. His daughter was imprisoned because her traumatised child had refused overnight access visits. That is just one example.
The in camera rule is an important facet of family law proceedings but we need to acknowledge reform of family court procedures is needed-----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-20