'If somebody is willing to put to pen and paper that they believe this person is of outstanding character, they should be willing to answer questions in person,' said Helen McEntee.
THE JUSTICE MINISTER said a new bill that will strengthen laws around consent and character references in court will be delivered by the end of the year.
The Department of Justice said this will “ensure that the person providing the reference swears to the veracity of their statement and can be called before the court for cross examination”. “They cannot be cross examined because this is not an affidavit, this is just a piece of paper that’s presented to the judge when the sentencing is happening.
A Department spokesperson said the “law is subjective” and added: “In effect, the alleged perpetrator can claim they are not guilty of rape because they honestly but mistakenly believed they had consent.” “So to me, you or any other member of the jury looking at this, is it reasonable to say that consent was given?”
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