Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senators for their contribution on the section. Senator Mooney raised the point that every protection and assistance should be given to witnesses in a criminal trial involving a sexual offence and under the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 an ample legislative foundation has been laid for that. Under Part 3 of the 1992 Act, evidence by way of video link can be given by any child victim witness in a trial involving the prosecution of a sexual offence. That is provided for in Part 3 which has been commenced. In a sense, that addresses many of the issues that arise because in cross-examination evidence can be heard by way of video link. It is a substantial protection for a child witness.

However, the issue that remains to be addressed, to which Senator Mooney at least hinted, is the question of section 16 of the 1992 Act, which has not yet been commenced. Section 16 envisaged that the evidence in chief, the statement of the child who has been abused, can be given by way of video recording and not in open court. Senators will appreciate that while that section has been on the Statute Book since 1992, there are enormous practical difficulties in devising the appropriate protocols for the production of evidence by way of video recording in open court. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform certainly indicated in the other House this morning that it is now our intention, given the Supreme Court decision, to proceed with this immediately and to give the child witness the protection of being able to give his or her evidence in a contemporaneous way by means of video link and then simply make himself or herself available for cross-examination in the court. It is our intention to expedite the deliberations of the Health Service Executive and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on this issue within the next month.