Defence Forces
Dail Éireann — 2021-09-30
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Gary Gannon (SD), Dublin Central

Everyone in this Chamber will agree that the practice of allowing an alleged abuser to question his or her victim is simply wrong. We do not need an independent inquiry to tell us that this is an abhorrent practice. Victims in civilian court proceedings cannot be cross-examined by their attackers following the enactment of the Criminal Justice (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. However, the Defence Act was not simultaneously amended to ensure this safeguard was extended to members of the Defence Forces. We must act immediately to ensure this practice can no longer happen because it is abhorrent. I listened to an interview by Katie Hannon with a person who experienced such a scenario and my heart broke. As legislators, we need to act very quickly to amend the law.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2021-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:38+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-09-30