Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As the Senator said, this issue was raised by Deputy Sherlock during the debate on this matter in the Dáil and I agreed to look at the issue again. We made a change to section 36 of the principal Act and it now provides for anonymised court reporting by legal professionals. Senator Seery Kearney spoke about this issue in the context of child law reporting and suggested that if there was a desire to create a decision support service reporting process, there would be clear permission to allow it to be used. The amendment also brought in a regulating power to allow the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, in consultation with the Minister for Justice, to include other classes of persons. Court research-type reporting is, therefore, provided for in section 36 and there is a power to include other classes of persons.

I have a concern about allowing journalists in. I think it is right that we have an in camerarule in the family courts. Some of the most distressing elements of an adult's life are being discussed in some of these cases and I question the appropriateness of having journalists there. Nevertheless, the possibility is open in respect of a regulation-making power and if a good case is made to subsequent Ministers for Justice and for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, then there is at least the possibility that other classes of people could be included. It is important to say that the research role, as rightly flagged in the Dáil debate, has already been provided for in the amendment I brought forward. Respectfully, we have gone as far as we need to go in terms of the amendments already brought forward. I am not, therefore, in a position to accept this amendment.