Maria McCormack
Labour Panel · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I thank the Minister for coming in. I note that the aim of this Bill is to take the current eligibility criteria for social housing and put them on a statutory footing, and to create a new appeals mechanism for those refused access to social housing.”
“While Sinn Féin wants flexibility in the planning rules to allow families to provide freestanding extensions in back gardens for family members, we do not support allowing these structures to be rented out, nor do we support denying people tenancy rights and protections when they are renting them out.”
“Given the complex legal issues involved in appeals such as legal residency, habitual residency and social housing support, it would have been better to have a single, independent appeals office located in the Housing Agency similar to how social welfare appeals operate.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. This Bill comprises a long, technical and complex series of amendments to the Planning and Development Act 2024. It is unfortunate that it is being rushed through the Houses at breakneck speed and without proper scrutiny.”
“The Minister can talk about viability all he wants but, really, all he is doing is making these developments more profitable while reducing living standards. It will not help to increase supply or bring down prices.”
“Many people living in Graiguecullen are asking the simple question, "What problem is this scheme actually trying to solve?" Residents are worried that a €3 million project could reduce road capacity, increase congestion around schools, make life more difficult for old people and people living with disabilities and negatively impact local…”
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“I ask the Minister to consider the issue of tenancy rights. If that were included, it would make it a very different situation because landlords could not exploit this rule. I wish the Minister would take the time to listen to the NGOs, housing charities and groups and their concerns before rushing through legislation on such an important issue. I refer especially to those organisations that have the legal expertise to tease out some of the complexities of the interaction of immigration and housing law, which have been ignored. It is not right. For the reasons I have mentioned, we cannot support the Bill. However, if the Minister can come back and review those issues regarding better safeguards for tenancies, we might be in a different position.”
“While Sinn Féin wants flexibility in the planning rules to allow families to provide freestanding extensions in back gardens for family members, we do not support allowing these structures to be rented out, nor do we support denying people tenancy rights and protections when they are renting them out. I know, from talking to families in Laois, that they are just waiting for the green light to put a cabin in their back garden for their adult children to have space and independent living. This will be very welcome in rural Ireland. However, we need to be sure that what was intended to be a helpful solution for families does not turn into a crisis of exploitation of vulnerable tenants by landlords, who will do whatever they can to make a extra few bob at the expense of people in desperate need of accommodation.”
“It causes isolation and can have a detrimental impact on the mental health of parents and older children who are homeless. It is particularly difficult for young children, who cannot integrate into after-school activities, such as GAA activities and so on. I ask the Minister if Laois can be considered for funding for homeless hubs in the near future or, at the very least, if Laois County Council can be provided with funding to acquire additional properties for homeless accommodation in the county. It is scandalous that families have to go through this. The late Stage amendments in the Dáil also included changes to the Residential Tenancies Board to remove tenancy rights from people renting freestanding residential extensions in back gardens.”
“I want to discuss the impact this will have for people living in County Laois, in particular, the issues relating to homeless accommodation. County Laois has very little homeless accommodation, particularly for families. Every week, I talk to women and couples who have been sent with their children to counties Carlow or Tipperary to access emergency accommodation. They have to travel back to Laois every morning for school, to attend doctor appointments or to carry out their normal daily activities. If transport is not available, they are sent miles away from any supports they have in their community. It is causing a huge amount of additional stress on top of the fact that they are already homeless and completely stressed.”
“Given the complex legal issues involved in appeals such as legal residency, habitual residency and social housing support, it would have been better to have a single, independent appeals office located in the Housing Agency similar to how social welfare appeals operate. On Report Stage in the Dáil, the Minister also introduced significant changes to the Housing Act 1988 related to homelessness with virtually no scrutiny. It is not the right way to do things. Homelessness NGOs and human rights organisations have expressed serious concerns regarding these last-minute changes, saying they could lead to an increase in rough sleeping. Sinn Féin is also concerned that people who may have had an entitlement to emergency accommodation could be wrongly denied it and will not be afforded the right to appeal.”
“I thank the Minister for coming in. I note that the aim of this Bill is to take the current eligibility criteria for social housing and put them on a statutory footing, and to create a new appeals mechanism for those refused access to social housing. Sinn Féin is not against this Bill in principle, but it must be said that the Minister has made a bit of a mess of this legislation and, on that basis, we cannot support it. The Bill does not adequately address the challenges facing returning Irish migrants. We are concerned that they may be refused access to social housing. The Minister should find a way to ensure that young people and their families returning to Ireland, who once lived here, are not punished by this legislation. This is really concerning. Another issue is that the appeals mechanism is not independent.”
“The lack of proper planning for counties and towns around infrastructure and public services such as schools, playgrounds, health facilities and transport, and all of the things that make towns sustainable, needs to be given serious consideration. This would really help. We need to ensure that addressing these kinds of things is not an afterthought. What I have described is how things are done. It leads to great frustration in communities. When we talk about planning, we need to focus on balanced development. It is crucial to the survival of rural and country towns.”
“While we see private estates popping up in larger towns such as Portlaoise, we also see how more rural towns and villages in Laois are being forgotten. They are not seeing enough development and they are dying. Shops and pubs are closing every week. We hear from the GAA, including at our committee, about how the imbalance in planning and development means that GAA clubs, and no doubt other sports clubs, do not have enough players or finances to keep going. A small rural village in Laois, The Swan, has a national school that is on the verge of closing because it just does not have enough pupils. In one part of Laois, the towns are being built up increasingly, while in the small rural villages GAA clubs are having to merge because they do not have enough players to keep going.”
“There has been a lot of private housing development, mostly concentrated in Portlaoise, but not enough planning around the delivery of sports and community facilities, especially for teenagers and families. The same applies to school places. We need to ensure that we are not just piling people into new houses and creating estates on the edges of towns with growing populations and not enough services. We have a GP shortage in Portlaoise. You simply cannot get a GP. We need good planning that encourages social and affordable homes. At the moment, the biggest issue is the lack of affordable housing in larger towns such as Portlaoise, but also in smaller rural towns. That brings me to my next point.”
“The Minister can talk about viability all he wants but, really, all he is doing is making these developments more profitable while reducing living standards. It will not help to increase supply or bring down prices. It is typical of a developer-led, private-market-led approach from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, which, as we all know, is making this housing crisis worse. I want to make a final point about planning in general. The same issues arise time and again all over the country with every new development, especially in Laois. Housing estates are built, families move in and then there is a realisation that there is a deficit of services in the area. The population of Laois has increased significantly in recent years. Portlaoise is one of the fastest growing towns in the country.”
“There are real concerns that the changes to the judicial review process will lead to increased legal challenges and development delays. I hope that is not the case. It would have been better to be able to scrutinise the Bill properly in both Houses to try to work through those concerns. It is baffling that the proposal to create a new legal definition of material contravention has not been subject to any scrutiny by groups representing planners, such as the Irish Planning Institute or the local government sector. Sinn Féin cannot support the proposal to allow developers to amend their apartment planning permissions in line with new inferior apartment design standards. Simply put, the Government is supporting developers to make more profit.”
“This is the second time we are amending the planning legislation, despite being told that the 2024 Act was a once-in-a-generation measure that would sort all planning issues for the future. We support the move towards greater plan-making but the Minister should address the need for significant extra staffing for planning authorities. At the moment, the numbers just are not adequate. We support increasing the lending limit of the Housing Finance Agency but it needs to be accompanied by reform of the funding mechanisms for the approved housing body, AHB, sector. People in that sector are telling us this is the real issue. We must be sure financing does not restrict the ability of AHBs to get on with the provision of housing.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. This Bill comprises a long, technical and complex series of amendments to the Planning and Development Act 2024. It is unfortunate that it is being rushed through the Houses at breakneck speed and without proper scrutiny. It is a really bad way to make planning law and it likely will lead to errors, unintended consequences, legal challenges and delays to much-need infrastructure, housing and public services. There are aspects of the Bill to which Sinn Féin is not opposed but we have concerns about other aspects. It is genuinely regrettable that the Dáil and Seanad have not been given the appropriate time and space to properly scrutinise the legislation or hear from professional planners and public and private sector utilities and developers.”
“We cannot keep coming into this Chamber and expressing sympathies as one woman after another lose their lives, without asking what more we can do. I am very conscious that we are all going on recess very soon, but I would like a commitment from this House that this will be an urgent issue on which we can look to see - more than statements - what we can do to address this emergency, because that is what it is. Violence against women and the resulting deaths of women in our society has to be treated for the emergency that it is. My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Adina Constantin.”
“We need a debate on cycle lanes and whether the NTA guidelines are sufficient. I urge the Minister to have a look at them to be sure these schemes work to improve active travel in communities rather than creating chaos. There is a petition locally with nearly 800 signatures from local residents in Graiguecullen which can be reviewed for evidence here. If active travel schemes are to succeed, they must bring communities with them and not divide them. With the indulgence of the Cathaoirleach, I would like to take a moment to address another issue. We have had very sad news in my little town of Portlaoise this week with the tragic loss of Adina Constantin. More women have been killed in Ireland in 2026 than in the whole of last year, and it is only July.”
“The Road Safety Authority collision data shows no recorded incidents involving cyclists on this stretch of road. Residents have not been shown the traffic studies, projected cycling numbers or cost-benefit analysis that would justify a project of this scale. Many local people believe there are higher priorities for investment, from road resurfacing and footpath repairs to progressing the long-awaited southern relief road, which they believe would genuinely reduce congestion while also providing opportunities for future active travel infrastructure. There are also legitimate concerns regarding the proximity of the proposed works to the historic Croppies Grave site, a site of immense historic importance that deserves the greatest level of archaeological protection and respect.”
“Many people living in Graiguecullen are asking the simple question, "What problem is this scheme actually trying to solve?" Residents are worried that a €3 million project could reduce road capacity, increase congestion around schools, make life more difficult for old people and people living with disabilities and negatively impact local businesses that rely on customer access and parking. What is particularly concerning is that many parents believe the proposed cycle lane could actually make cycling less safe here for children. Due to the number of side roads, driveways and commercial entrances along Church Street, motorists would regularly have to cross the cycle lane, creating additional conflict points rather than reducing them. People are asking where the evidence is here.”
“The first issue I would like to raise is a matter of growing concern locally around the design of cycle lanes. The National Transport Authority's guidelines for councils need to be reviewed. Many residents, families and businesses in Graiguecullen are baffled by the proposed Church Street pedestrian and cycle scheme. I absolutely support investment in active travel, safer roads, better footpaths and cycling infrastructure where it is needed and where it is backed by evidence and by the local community. That is exactly the issue here.”
“With everything else rolling out, it would be good if we could get an update again when we are back in September. It seems, though, that the progress the Minister has been promising is really under way. The extra colorectal surgeon and all the additional surgeries mean we are on the right track. Hopefully, we can keep making progress.”
“Go raibh maith agat. This is fantastic. So much good work has gone on here. The two education officers recruited, Kathleen King and Cate O’Connor, are absolutely fantastic. The MISE programme is outstanding. Ms King is a medical scientist who has 30 years' experience researching endometriosis. MISE is a fantastic initiative. There are so many positives here. Education and awareness is massive, and it is great that one of the ministerial conferences is being used for endometriosis. We have come so far on this journey. I have one other question. Does the Minister have a date or some sort of a timeline for when we might know about the addition of Greece? I understand the situation with Romania. A lot of people ask about the timeline for Greece, however.”
“They need shorter waiting times, earlier diagnostics, access to specialist imaging, multidisciplinary teams, on which I hope the Minister will elaborate more, and timely treatment. The framework gave hope to thousands of women living with endometriosis in Ireland. I hope that today the Minister will outline how these commitments are being translated into tangible improvements in services. Ultimately, this is how the success will be managed for the women out there.”
“Gatekeeping from consultants has been commonly described to me, whereby consultants refuse to refer people abroad. A question I am constantly asked is about the exploration of adding additional countries to the scheme, in particular Romania and Greece. Is there an update on these countries being considered, particularly given the significant number of Irish women who travel to seek treatment there? I also welcome the fact that endometriosis now has its own HSE clinical code. This is an important step in understanding the true scale of the disease. Will the Minister provide an update on how this data is being collected and how it will be used to improve future planning and service provision? While progress has been made, patients need to see the progress reflected in their own experiences.”
“Has this training commenced? How many healthcare professionals have participated? We discussed the importance of improving specialist imaging. Too many patients continue to tell us they have had MRIs or ultrasounds reported as normal here only for extensive endometriosis to be discovered during surgery. The Minister committed to improving specialist training for radiographers in identifying endometriosis on imaging. Will the Minister outline what progress has been made in implementing this commitment and how the Department intends to measure whether diagnostic accuracy is improving? We also discussed the endometriosis interim surgery abroad scheme. While I welcome the establishment of the scheme, patients continue to raise concerns regarding access.”
“It impacts every aspect of a woman's life, including her education, employment, fertility, relationships and mental health. For many years, women living with endometriosis have told us the same story. They wait years for a diagnosis. They are often told their pain is normal. They struggle to get access to specialist care. In many cases, they are forced to travel abroad for treatment because we simply do not have the proper treatment here. When we met earlier this year, the Minister outlined a number of important commitments. I would appreciate an update on these today. With regard to education and training, the Minister advised that additional training would be provided for GPs and consultants to improve awareness, diagnosis and referral pathways. Will the Minister provide an update on the progress that has been achieved?”
“I welcome the Minister and thank her for coming here to take this matter regarding the important issue of endometriosis. It has been almost a year now since the publication of the national endometriosis framework. I acknowledge that publishing the framework was an important step forward. I really appreciate the constructive engagement I have had with the Minister on endometriosis care over the last year. Today is about taking stock. Patients want to know what has actually changed since the framework was published. As we know, endometriosis affects one in ten women in Ireland. If we had proper data, it would probably show that one in six or one in seven is affected. It is not just a painful period. It is a chronic inflammatory whole-body disease that can affect the bowel, bladder, diaphragm and other vital organs, including the lungs.”
“-----given the information we have heard, everything that has come into the public domain and, as Senator Andrews noted, that victims and survivors are coming forward telling us they are having to choose between going to court or to counselling. We cannot have this situation and the mental health and impact of trauma this is having on society is detrimental. It is such a serious issue that I hope what the Minister is saying is correct and that this will start a reform of the justice system for victims and survivors. Once again, I commend Paula on all her hard work. She is part of the change in this law, we all need to remember that, and it is very fitting that we give Paula a bualadh bos for all of her work on this issue.”
“There has been movement and I have to acknowledge that. I do appreciate the Minister's feedback. Once again, I have to commend Paula Doyle here in the Chamber with us and everybody who is with her and who has campaigned. Although she may feel like it is not a win when it is not a full ban, there is movement here and the process going forward is not going to be as straightforward for people. I thank the Minister but I do hope he will review this very carefully-----”
“This is the Minister's final opportunity to introduce a ban on counselling notes and protect future victims. I urge the Minister to please accept amendment No. 34.”
“A presumption would have set the mandatory starting point and shifted the burden of proof, while a gatekeeping test merely filters the applications. Without an express presumption, the courts are not required to begin from a position of presumptive non-disclosure, which is what the Minister indicated he would deliver. I know Rape Crisis Ireland has engaged with the Minister on this matter and was of the view a commitment had been made that disclosure would only occur where there was a real risk of an unfair trial. This has not happened. Instead, we have the introduction of provisions in relation to the interest of justice. These need to be dropped. Amendment No. 34, tabled by Sinn Féin, would ban the disclosure of counselling notes. This is what is needed and what victims demand.”
“The defence are playing clever now as they can't ask what the victim was wearing or his or her sexual history, so they now prowl through a victim's counselling notes for an assumption that by examining these her background, her behaviour, her traumatised and hijacked memory, that it will help them [prove] that she somehow implied consent. This is not just unfair. It is absolutely devastating, it is disgusting, it is extremely dangerous and it is psychological harm. Those were words from Paula Doyle sent to all of us Members. The current updated provisions from the Minister do not introduce the statutory presumption of non-disclosure that was publicly promised. Instead, they create a two-stage gatekeeping test, which is a different and weaker legal mechanism.”
“After replying that I felt I was a good mother to my five children, the defence barrister, before turning to the jury, said, "But you can't hug your children." This was not the only incidence of the use of my counselling notes in court. See the violence didn't end with the assault. It continued when my counselling notes were used in the courtroom, ripped apart, stripped bare and I was mentally violated again, but this time by our Irish justice system. Not a lot has changed over the past decade for victims.”
“During the investigation, it was found that the person who had been stalking me for three and a half years previously ended up being my rapist. It took so much of me to report this crime and I expected that the legal process might be hard, but cross-examination during the trial is horrendous. Instead, my counselling notes were taken and used in court. My healing journey and survival responses were presented in court by the defence as inconsistencies, unreliabilities and that I was unstable. The notes that were used were of no reference to the actual rape but were fragments of my new, broken existence that would be used by the defence to discredit me on the stand as a woman, a partner and a mother. I was asked by the defence what type of a mother I was.”
“This is what I would like to focus on. We have heard how the disclosure of counselling notes deters people from getting the counselling they need when they need it. What we have not heard, but what I have asked for, is evidence or examples of where counselling notes secured by the defence have materially impacted on court cases. I will read part of a letter I received from Paula Doyle, who is in the Chamber with us. She is a campaigner for a ban on the use of counselling notes: My counselling was supposed to be my place where I could begin to heal my broken life, to process the trauma and, in my case, save my life. My four and a half years of sessions before trial were filled with flashbacks, triggers, suicidal thoughts and a time in my life where my nervous system was on constant high alert.”
“I listened back to the Minister's comments on counselling notes in last week's debate, and I listened again to the lived experiences of people who have given their testimonies. They have been read out throughout these debates in the Houses and in committee. Banning the disclosure of counselling notes is about recognising that they are hearsay evidence and rebalancing our justice system so that there is not only a fair trial but a fair justice system for victims and survivors. I welcome the victims and survivors to the Gallery today. We have heard of the additional trauma caused by the disclosure of counselling notes, including from women who were asked about personal family matters totally unrelated to the case by lawyers for the defence. It was information they could only have obtained from the counselling notes.”
“(6) No person shall request or seek such records, whether from a record holder, a complainant or otherwise, and no record holder shall comply with any such request or purported order. (7) A court shall not order, direct or invite the production or disclosure of such records. (8) Nothing in this section prevents a complainant from voluntarily disclosing their own records, provided such disclosure is not solicited by any party.”.”
“(2) In proceedings for a sexual offence, counselling records shall be treated as hearsay, and any statement within them as an out-of-court statement tendered for its truth, regardless of form or expression. (3) Notwithstanding any rule of law, counselling or therapeutic records relating to a complainant shall not be sought, inspected, disclosed, produced, or admitted in evidence in such proceedings. (4) Subsection (3) applies to all records created in the course of counselling, psychotherapy, psychological support, mental health treatment, or related services. (5) No application may be made to a court for the production, inspection, disclosure or admission of records to which subsection (3) applies, and any such application shall be void.”
“I move amendment No. 26: In page 23, to delete lines 18 to 35, and to delete pages 24 to 27 and in page 28 to delete lines 1 to 3 and substitute the following: “Amendment of section 19A of Criminal Evidence Act 1992 22. The Criminal Evidence Act 1992 is amended by the deletion of section 19A and the substitution of the following: “19A. (1) In this section— “competent person” means a person with relevant training, study or experience in counselling; “counselling” means the provision of support, advice, therapy or treatment to a person; “counselling record” means any record made by a competent person in connection with counselling provided to a complainant in a sexual offence case; “court” means the Circuit Criminal Court or the Central Criminal Court; “sexual offence” has the same meaning as in the Schedule to the Sex Offenders Act 2001.”
“I move amendment No. 23: In page 19, after line 40, to insert the following: “Review of operation of Part IIIA 40D. (1) The Minister shall carry out a review of the operation of this Part not later than 2 years after the commencement of this section. (2) The Minister shall, following the review referred to in subsection (1), carry out further reviews of the operation of this Part at intervals not exceeding 5 years. (3) A review under this section shall include an assessment of the exercise of powers under sections 40A, 40B and 40C, including the frequency and circumstances of their use.”.”.”
“I am alarmed by the fact that the Minister has said indicated that all of this is in place already and that the Defence Forces are deployed for many reasons, including locating missing persons. Everyone wants to see these powers being strengthened for those reasons, but they are already there and are already being used. Are we just supposed to accept that these powers can be used for any purpose? I accept that we need new legislation, particularly as the Defence Forces may need to be called in at any stage. However, we do not know what that need might be. Mary, Joe and Paddy could decide to have a protest outside the gate, but who decides that the Defence Forces need to be called in? Where does this begin and end?”
“I thank the Minister. I am still not entirely satisfied with the reasons for bringing in this measure. I understand he is saying that this legislation needed reform because it was over 60 years old. Why did it just happen at that time? It seems to be a strange coincidence that the exact wording in this new legislation seems to be the same wording that the Minister used when he was going to call in the Defence Forces. The provision refers to "approval for the deployment of a member of the Defence Forces in aid of the civil power". Those are the exact words that the Minister used when he was going to deploy the Defence Forces during the fuel protests.”
“I am interested in the Minister's response here. I am not entirely satisfied. On the last occasion, the Minister told me that this has been used for a long time and is already in place. If this is already in place, why did this need to come forward now and as part of this miscellaneous provisions Bill? Why is it not getting a chance to go through the defence and foreign affairs committees? It seems to have been pushed through and added on here. This Bill already has many unrelated matters. The Minister for foreign affairs seemed to not really understand her reasons for bringing this forward right now. I am hoping the Minister might be able to clarify it for me.”
“We do not know where the rationale for bringing forward these changes came from and why it is being done in such a rushed manner and as part of this miscellaneous provisions Bill, which, the Minister has already stated, already covers a wide range of, in my opinion, unrelated matters. Sinn Féin has been clear that any expansion of Defence Forces powers must be grounded in transparency, democratic oversight and absolute respect for civil liberties. Whether the Minister accepts it or not, the fact is that the provisions on the aid to the civil power raise concerns regarding the normalising of military involvement in policing, which should remain exceptional and limited. An Garda Síochána is the primary civilian policing authority and any Defence Forces support must remain exceptional, time bound and tightly controlled.”
“I will discuss amendment No. 18 first. This amendment seeks to annul the provision in relation to aid to the civil power. Despite what the Minister said to me on Committee Stage as to the reasons for the inclusion of these provisions in this Bill, today we have no explanation whatsoever as to what prompted the Government to bring forward these provisions. The Minister for foreign affairs and for Defence was completely evasive on this matter when this was discussed in the Dáil select committee. I looked back over the transcript from that committee from 19 May, which I have to hand, and it is not adding up.”
“I move amendment No. 18: In page 19, to delete lines 9 to 25 and substitute the following: "40B. Nothing in this Part shall be construed as conferring any new or additional power on the Minister to direct the deployment of members of the Defence Forces in aid of the civil power beyond those that exist apart from this Part.".”
“I spoke on this already but I welcome the Government's acceptance of the amendment put forward by our justice spokesperson, Deputy Matt Carthy. It is an important amendment. It is an important reform that will strengthen fairness and accountability in the courts. That is what is really important here. As the Minister said, this amendment requires character references for all indictable offences to be given under oath or by affidavit. It extends protections that previously applied only in sexual offence cases. I am delighted. I hope that this can be a trend going forward that we can look for justice reform that comes from the Opposition in the best interest of the public.”
“I welcome that the Minister accepted the amendment on character references submitted by Deputy Carthy. I hope in future he will be open to accepting further constructive Opposition amendments also.”
“This amendment is one of the most significant reforms to the law on character references in many years because it extends the requirement for sworn character references beyond sexual offence cases to all indictable offences. This is a substantial improvement and one that Sinn Féin is very proud to have secured. While I welcome this important reform and the Minister's acceptance of the amendment, I hope the Government also reflects on the legislation process that has been brought before us here. Important reform deserves proper time, proper scrutiny and proper debate. That benefits legislators, the legal system and ultimately the public that we serve. Sinn Féin will always support practical measures to strengthen our justice system, improve accountability and place the victims and their families at the centre of our laws.”
“I commend Deputy Carthy on taking that experience, engaging directly with the Minister, drafting amendments and pursuing this issue at every opportunity through ministerial questions, the justice committee and the legislative process. This is an example of constructive opposition leading to meaningful legislative change. No victim should ever leave a courtroom feeling that greater attention was paid to protecting the reputation of an offender than to acknowledging the harm that victim has suffered. Our courts must command public confidence, and victims must know that fairness and accountability are at the heart of our justice system.”
“It improves transparency, strengthens confidence in our justice system and ensures that sentencing decisions are based on evidence that carries proper accountability. This change came because victims and families had the courage to speak out about their experiences and people listened to them. I particularly acknowledge Karen Ryan, whose determination and persistence in highlighting this issue have been instrumental in bringing about this reform. Following the devastating loss of her father, she channelled her grief into campaigning for change so that other families would not have to endure the same additional trauma in court. She deserves enormous credit for refusing to let this issue be ignored.”
“In many cases, those giving the references were unaware of the full facts of the offence or even what the individual had pleaded guilty to. Those references could create a misleading impression before the court, while the voices of victims and the reality of the harm they suffered were overshadowed. This amendment is not about preventing people from providing character references. Character references will continue to have a place within our justice system. What this reform does is introduce accountability. It ensures that anyone providing a character reference regarding an indictable offence must do so under oath or by affidavit. In other words, they must stand over what they are saying and appreciate the seriousness of the evidence they are giving before the court. That is common-sense reform.”