Ms Caroline Counihan:

I will try to be as concise as possible. The whole thing concerns good process from beginning to end. Sometimes that might involve statutory change, as Ms O'Malley-Dunlop mentioned, concerning counselling records. My view would certainly be that this is the best way to deal with it. Revising the other sexual experience provisions would be another example.

It is enormously important for a victim to deal with well trained people. These include gardaí, sexual assault treatment unit personnel, staff of the Rape Crisis Centre, prosecution lawyers in the DPP's office and prosecution advocates who have specific training relevant to how this trauma impacts on victims of rape and sexual assault. I completely support the training of judges, which is a critical element. Various professions do receive training along those lines, but I would plead for some specialist input from experienced rape crisis staff. They are on the front line, dealing with survivors every day and are thus familiar with the issues. That is a vital component in this regard.