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THE NEW JUSTICE Minister Jim O’Callaghan has said he is “not opposed” to introducing an outright ban on the use of counselling notes as evidence in trials.
Earlier today in the Dáil, during a motion on gender-based violence, he would not commit to an outright ban on their use but said he would look at amending the law.
Asked by The Journal this afternoon to clarify his position, he said he is “not opposed to it at all but what I’m saying is, I’m going to look at this area.”
“If you look at Section 19 A, the intention of the Oireachtas was to ensure that the type of situations you’re concerned about wouldn’t happen. And I would look at it again if amending legislation is required.”
He made the comments at the launch of a campaign by Cuan, the Government’s Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency.
Today is the first time the Minister has made a public statement setting out his position on the matter since taking office last month.
His predecessor, Helen McEntee was committed to implementing an outright ban, but concerns over the impact on an accused person’s right to a fair trial hindered progress.
This morning, People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger put forward a motion on gender-based violence in the Dáil.
It called on the Government to end the practice of character references for those convicted of gender-based violence and to legislate to prevent access to counselling records by the defence.
The Government did not oppose the motion.
Speaking in the Dáil today, the Minister said he remembers when an amendment was introduced to the law in 2017 which stated that counselling notes should not be disclosed unless necessary for a fair trial.
“All of us thought at that time that this was a provision that was going to deal with that issue,” he said.
He said it is unfortunate that this element of the law is not operating as intended.
“I’m certainly committed to reviewing it, to looking at it, and if it is the case that we need to have legislation to amend it, I will do that, and I’ll bring forward the legislation,” the minister said.
The 2025 Programme for Government commits to “amend laws on counselling notes disclosure”, it does not commit to an outright ban on the practice.
The minister said today that he commends and admires the survivors of male violence who were in the Dáil for the motion.
He said their voices are “loudly heard” and he acknowledged that more needs to be done by the Government to improve the court system for victims.
On the proposal to get rid of character references in cases of gender-based violence, the Minister said he would “consider it” but that it would be difficult to get rid of them only in cases where people are convicted of specific cases and not in others.
Last week, Natasha O’Brien, the woman who was beaten unconscious by an Irish soldier after she asked him to stop shouting homophobic abuse, spoke about the impact of character references on victims.
“What I experienced in the justice system was more traumatising and will haunt me forever,” O’Brien said.
She said character references and the fact they are provided right at the end of a trial, almost “blur out” everything the victim has said and experienced.
The Minister also said today that he has instructed his Department to progress legislation relating to the guardianship of children in cases where one of their parents has been murdered by the other.
Valerie French’s brother was in the Dáil today for the motion.
Valerie, an occupational therapist, was beaten, stabbed and strangled to death by her husband, James Kilroy in 2019.
Her family are calling for a review of the law to stop people who kill their partners from having parental rights to their children.
The Minister said today he hopes to bring a memo to Cabinet on this issue next month.
The Minister also said today that he is committed to introducing a domestic violence register.
This has become known as Jennie’s Law, in memory of Jennifer Poole who was killed by her former partner.
“We have a situation in this country where we publish lists of tax offenders. We don’t publish a list of people who’ve been convicted of rape or serious sexual assault,” the Minister said.
“The only way we know about that is if a journalist happens to be in court, or if, as many brave victims have done, the victim decides, subsequently to go public.”
He added:
“I think it’s unfair to expect every victim to carry that burden.”
Other TDs also made statements on the issue of gender-based violence in the Dáil this morning.
Sinn Féin TD for Mayo Rose Conway-Walsh told the Dáil she has been working in this area for over twenty years and has not seen progress.
“The truth is we do not take this issue seriously,” she said.
“Let’s face it, if we were serious about tackling violence against women – sexual, financial, coercive control, all of those things – we would be doing something about it.”
She asked: “How many women would be alive today if this issue was taken seriously?
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