Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-10
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

The first thing I want to say is that I have listened to people in the House. I acknowledge the presence of survivors in the Gallery and I commend them because the law is being changed because of the advocacy of campaigners. We all agree on one thing, which is that the current situation is unacceptable. The current statutory scheme that operates is unacceptable and needs to be changed. It needs to be changed in order to weigh the balance between a fair trial and the right to privacy more in favour of the right to privacy. I believe that is what I am doing. I cannot ban counselling notes. I simply cannot do that because of the legal advice that I have received. The Labour Party recognises that. People in this House recognise that.
In terms of the proposal from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, I gave consideration to it and have prepared a response in respect of it. I just want the House to know that its scheme is not that different from what I am operating, except that it would have a panel of barristers deciding it, as opposed to a judge.
Finally, on the interests of justice, the reason I left it in is because the advice I received is that counselling notes can be very beneficial to the prosecution of sexual offences and rapes. They corroborate what a complainant is saying and are very beneficial in terms of getting people convicted because the counselling notes confirm what the complainant is saying.

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Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-10