Sexual Violence Victims’ Counselling Notes and Proposed Legislative Amendments

Rape Crisis Ireland (RCI) is requesting meetings with political leaders following the publication of the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025. We wish to present our position on the Bill and outline the amendments we are now calling for.

RCI has consistently advocated for the complete protection or privileged status of counselling notes in cases of sexual violence. Survivors of sexual violence must be guaranteed that deeply personal information will not be used in ways that compromise their privacy.

We recognise that the Government may have legitimate concerns that a complete ban could raise constitutional issues, particularly around the right to a fair trial, and might therefore face legal challenges which could lead to overturned convictions. We accept that this is a complex legal landscape, and in that context, we propose an interim position that protects survivors’ privacy while respecting fair trial principles.

RCI is calling for key Amendments to the Bill:

1. Introduce a Presumption of Non-Disclosure
   The default position should be that counselling notes are not disclosed unless clear, demonstrable, and specific relevance to the case can be established.
   • This change would address current practice, where notes are frequently requested at the investigative stage and included in the book of evidence before relevance has been properly considered.
   • It ensures that counselling notes are not treated as automatically accessible materials.
2. Raise the Threshold for Disclosure
   Disclosure should only occur where it is essential to prevent a real risk of an unfair trial.
   • This higher standard maintains the balance between protecting survivors’ privacy and upholding constitutional rights.
   • Only information of absolute necessity and direct relevance should be eligible for consideration.

RCI is advocating Supporting Measures that must be in place for this legislation to succeed in its intention:

• Legal Aid and Resourcing: Adequate Legal Aid funding is crucial to ensure fair representation for all parties and the consistent application of any new disclosure framework.
• Transparency and Oversight: Decisions made on disclosure applications must be transparent and consistent. Clear reporting and review mechanisms will be essential to maintain public confidence and ensure uniform interpretation across jurisdictions. The existing practices will not suffice and we strongly recommend that the Department of Justice leads stakeholders on piloting a transparency process for section 19A pre-trials.

These measures would significantly limit the unnecessary intrusion into survivors’ privacy and health within Constitutional parameters.

We remain concerned that both the amendments proposed by the Government and any interim measures do not address the impact the disclosure of counselling notes has on the counselling relationship and the deterrent effect it has on survivors’ accessing support services. The capacity and transparency measures we recommend are designed to mitigate those harms.

You can read our full briefing here.