Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome the Minister's response and her commitment to make these amendments. I was seeking to provide an additional layer of protection, as she advised, for children. I have heard all too often, particularly from parents of affected children, that because of the potential for counselling notes to be disclosed, they have not sought to bring charges for sexual offences. In balancing the rights, the Minister also needs to balance the public interest and the right to justice in order that people will bring forward cases. If I, as a parent, put my child through counselling and I felt all these notes could potentially be forwarded to the person who allegedly committed the crime, that would be horrendous.