Seanad debates

Friday, 11 December 2015

Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage

 

10:00 am

Photo of Trevor Ó ClochartaighTrevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yes, I have been asked by Senator van Turnhout to move her amendment.

I move amendment No. 35:

In page 22, line 27, after “in this section” to insert “and in section 19B”.

The purpose of amendment No. 36 in my name is to restrict the availability of therapy notes in criminal proceedings to those which have a direct bearing on the offence in question. We have raised issues around this at different Stages. Therapy, following from sexual abuse, is not solely concerned with discussing that experience. According to representations from the CARI Foundation, the Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street, and Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin, therapy often covers a range of family and relationship issues which are often not relevant to proceedings. Without a definition of relevance, there is a risk that defence representatives would cast a deliberately wide net, seeking sensitive information which does not contain reference to the actual offence.

Amendment No. 38 is to ensure therapy records do not provide an indication of whether or not a complainant has an ability to testify at trial. Such notes do not capture the current developmental, verbal or emotional competencies of a complainant or, in any way, assess a complainant’s capabilities to participate in the criminal justice system.

The purpose of amendment No. 39 is to ensure therapy records do not provide an indication of whether or not a complainant has an ability to testify at trial.

Amendment No. 41 is to ensure vulnerable people such as children are protected from re-traumatisation. It is the opinion of special care units that the risk of harm, psychological harm in this context, which could be caused to the victim by unnecessary disclosure should be included as a factor. This is consistent with EU directives which describe that child witnesses should be protected from further victimisation and re-traumatisation within the criminal justice system.

To put it in a nutshell, we are concerned by the way therapy notes could be misused by unscrupulous legal representatives and how they could possibly drag up many issues which people might not like to have discussed in a public or other court. This could be a deterrent to some people taking cases. We know these cases are difficult to prosecute in any sense. I imagine the Minister of State is coming from a similar type of perspective to ourselves on this. I hope he will consider these amendments helpful and take them on board.

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