VIDEOTAPES of a child can be admitted as part of a social worker's expert evidence in a case of alleged sexual abuse by a father of a six year old girl, the Supreme Court decided yesterday.
It was claimed the allegations were supported by video recordings based on an interview or interviews between a social worker and the child.
The appeal to the Supreme Court arose out of a High Court decision following a District Court application by the father in September last year under the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964. The child was born in 1989.
The High Court held the tapes should be admitted in the light of safeguards proposed by the district judge.
Mr Justice O'Flaherty said yesterday the district judge in this case was required to inquire what were the best interests of the child.
The rights of the father had to be safeguarded, as far as practicable. "But when the consequences of any encroachment on the respective rights is considered, it is easy to comprehend the child's welfare must always be of far graver concern to the court".
In this case the key evidence would be that of the social worker. The tapes were material that would back up his testimony but the important evidence would be his expert testimony. It would be for the district judge to accept or reject that evidence, having given the father every opportunity to engage his own expert testimony.
Since the child was now over six years the district judge should establish anew that she was incompetent to give evidence. If he got confirmation she was incompetent, or that the trauma she would suffer would make it undesirable she should give evidence, then he would be justified in allowing the video recordings.
The tapes were not to be admitted as independent evidence but rather as a portion of the material on which the expert evidence of the social worker would be based.