Use of counselling notes in rape and sexual assault cases to be reviewed

Its 24-hour helpline received 18,605 calls last year, up 200 from the year before.

Currently, legal teams can request counselling notes for a victim of sexual abuse, which has long been an issue for survivors.

However, Ms McEntee said a review of the issue had commenced and a stakeholder group would be assembled to make sure the process is “victim-centred”.

The minister added that she wanted to “ensure survivors of recent and historical assaults can come forward and get the support they need”.

Speaking to survivors she said: “It is your voices, your expertise; thank you for speaking out.

It’s important to remove the barriers that prevent a victim from coming forward.

The chairperson of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) Ann Marie Gill said during her nine years in the role, there were 129,000 contacts to the National Rape Crisis Helpline.

“Our volunteers and staff have taken 1,845 people to the sexual assault treatment unit and we have started counselling with 2,825 new therapies,” she said.

Chief executive of the DRCC Rachel Morrogh marked 45 years since the foundation of the charity and said: "We have been at the forefront of the Irish response to sexual violence, providing counselling and support to adult women and men who experienced rape, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse since 1979.

“That first year, there were 76 calls to our helpline in 1979; in 2005, there were more than 12,000 calls, and in 2023 there were over 18,600 contacts — the most ever."

She added that the charity’s annual report “also brings a heaviness because notwithstanding the fact more people are seeking support, many people who come to us have a mental fragility that is so delicate, only the most experienced counsellors can help them navigate a churning sea of complex trauma caused by sexual violence.

“This is manifested in our observation of increased levels of suicidal ideation on previous years. This isn’t a point I want to skip over.

“I want you to think about what that means, the fact that more people are expressing suicidal thoughts than we have seen before.

“Those 500 calls are symbolic of a trend that is going in the wrong direction. 

I am hugely concerned that there is a mental health crisis amongst survivors of sexual violence and that public mental health services are struggling with inadequate capacity.

The charity also launched a new video which highlighted the stories of three survivors of sexual abuse and their experiences.