LABOUR PARTY leader Eamon Gilmore is to write to the party's Oireachtas members advising them to exercise caution in supplying character references following the controversy over a letter written by Kathleen Lynch TD to a judge sentencing a rapist.
A spokesman for Mr Gilmore told The Irish Timeshe would be advising all the party's TDs and Senators "to exercise extreme caution and discretion in regard to requests for character evidence of this nature". Mr Gilmore has not formulated any guidelines as yet, but is expected to do so shortly.
He and Ms Lynch discussed the controversy over the course of the weekend, where it was agreed that the party leader would draw up guidelines.
The party spokesman also said that the party was well disposed to a suggestion by Minister for the Environment John Gormley that there was a need for a code of conduct to be introduced for politicians to deal with such cases.
Mr Gormley yesterday said that a code of conduct governing this area was a good idea in principle. He also said that TDs should not have a role in the judicial process.
The proposal for a code of conduct follows controversy at the weekend when it emerged Ms Lynch had written to sentencing judge Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy to say convicted rapist, Trevor Casey (31), from Closes Road in Fairhill, Cork city, came from a good family.
Casey had been convicted of raping two sisters, then aged 14 and 16, and one of the young women criticised Ms Lynch, saying she felt hurt by Ms Lynch's involvement in the case and that she should be ashamed of herself for supporting "a convicted rapist".
Ms Lynch apologised to the two sisters for any offence or hurt that she had caused them by writing the letter to the judge and yesterday she pledged to work to introduce new guidelines within the Labour Party for politicians giving character references.
"I've been talking to a few people and there will now clearly be guidelines laid down - that isn't the result of anyone's promptings, that's as a result of our own deliberations," Ms Lynch told Cork 96FM's The Opinion Line.
"I do now believe that there should be guidelines laid down and I have already been in contact with Eamon Gilmore and we have agreed that that will happen within the Labour Party," she later told RTÉ Radio's News at One.
Ms Lynch said while she regretted what she had done, it should be remembered that judges did seek background information on defendants prior to sentencing, and priests and others, as well as politicians, often gave character references.
Ms Lynch said she did not believe it was a resigning issue, and whether or not she was removed from the front bench was a matter for Eamon Gilmore. She again expressed her regret to the two rape victims for adding to their trauma and upset.
Meanwhile one of Trevor Casey's rape victims told The Opinion Line she rejected Ms Lynch's apology and said she should resign; if she refused to do so, Eamon Gilmore should remove her from the front bench.
"It's hard to move on and get over it when the politicians are supporting it . . . No, I wouldn't meet her, not after supporting him . . .
"Does she not realise the effect that [ the letter] would have on us, the victims? Writing a letter to support a convicted monster. She wrote the letter for the parents. What about the parents of my family?"
Earlier, Fiona Neary, executive director of the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland, said Ms Lynch's apology was insufficient and that her actions would be "deeply distressing" to victims of convicted sex offenders.
"Unfortunately, these inappropriate actions are not exceptional to Kathleen Lynch: there are other elected representatives who have undertaken similar activities in other court cases involving convicted sex offenders," said Ms Neary.
"I think for Kathleen Lynch's apology to carry any weight, what we immediately need to see is that she takes up the role of ensuring her party has a code of practice where activities like this are seen to be not acceptable and will not be undertaken by any elected representative."