Ruth Coppinger says the government should apologise to survivors

Coppinger's private member’s motion called for an end to the practice of character references for those convicted of gender-based violence. She also called to stop the defence from using the therapy notes of survivors in court.

Coppinger called on the Government to apologise to victims after their poor attendance at yesterday's motion.

There were opposition TDs there too, but just one representative from the government. Coppinger confirmed the Minister for Justice left after 35 minutes due to another event.

Junior Minister Niall Collins at yesterday's motion.

Coppinger said yesterday's turnout was "an absolute insult to this issue"

She told Her.ie: "They knew that this debate was coming up, and they knew survivors would be in the Dáil.

"It was blatantly obvious to me that this wasn't being given the importance that it needed from the government. We have an epidemic of gender-based violence. It's been acknowledged as such by the government in the past, and it's acknowledged by the WHO, the United Nations.

"The key thing is that the government should apologise to the survivors that were there, especially to those who were upset after it, quite upset visibly."

"It just seemed like a slap in the face after. To them, they built it up as a very big thing. They took time off work. Some people travelled from Kerry yesterday. People brought family members, so it was a big thing for them to hear this issue being brought to the floor of the Dáil."

Large group of survivors & families of victims of #genderviolence coming to the gallery for my motion on action on gender violence. They can’t wait any longer for change pic.twitter.com/2zaVto0l99

— Ruth Coppinger (@RuthCoppingerSP) February 26, 2025

The government confirmed it would not oppose Coppinger's motion on character references and access to counselling notes in court.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan suggested that the Government should not oppose the motion because policy intentions align with the programme for government. 

He also confirmed that the Department of Justice was already working on some of the matters, including the establishment of Jennie's Law.

The government also stressed that other matters were just for the Judicial Council.

Coppinger encouraged the public to take to the streets on March 1st to demand government action and reform of the justice system. 

They will be marching alongside survivors and victims of gender based violence in Dublin, Limerick and Cork.

Find out more here.