I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill, notwithstanding the well-made points that have been raised regarding its miscellaneous nature and the number and range of proposals and measures therein. The Bill presents itself as progress but on the most contentious issue before us, the use of counselling notes in sexual violence trials, it represents a profound failure of ambition and a direct rejection of the calls of victims, survivors and experts. For years survivors and their advocates have campaigned with one clear, unequivocal demand, which is a full and outright ban on the disclosure and use of counselling notes in these trials. They have spoken with devastating clarity about the reality that the mere prospect of their most private, therapeutic conversations being pored over in court forces an impossible choice between healing or justice, court or counselling. This practice has become the norm with devastating consequences, deterring victims from seeking vital counselling and weaponising their healing process against them. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, chaired by my party colleague Deputy Carthy heard this evidence. They listened and their pre-legislative scrutiny, PLS, report recommended a full ban. What does this legislation offer? It offers a provision that makes a disclosure hearing mandatory in all cases. With respect, this is not reform but a rebranding of the broken and harmful status quo. This Bill, as it stands, does not end the practice but institutionalises it. It strips away the victims' remaining shred of autonomy, the right to say "No" to the request and places the decision solely in the hands of a judge. While we all respect the Judiciary, its members are trained to assess evidence but counselling notes are not evidence. They are third-party interpretive records, therapeutic tools created in the context of care, not legal precision. The Minister speaks of balancing rights but this proposal tips the scales further against the victim. It tells survivors that their deeply personal journey through trauma, their rawest moments in therapy are now default material for legal scrutiny. It tells therapists that their notes, written to aid healing, may become fodder for cross-examination. This will retraumatise and deter. The Minister points towards possible amendments in relation to the presumption of non-disclosure and the expansion of definitions but I have very serious concerns about anything short of an outright ban. One thing is clear; this legislation in its current form falls far short. It ignores the recommendations of the Oireachtas committee on justice, the calls of Grevio and the united voices of survivors and support services. This section of the Bill is unacceptable and must be fundamentally amended on Committee Stage. We owe it to every survivor who has been forced to relive his or her trauma in the witness box, to every person currently avoiding counselling for fear of these notes being used and to all future victims who deserve a justice system that protects rather than persecutes them. I urge all TDs to support the necessary changes on Committee Stage to finally deliver just such a system.

Sentiment score: -0.05