Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
761. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the efforts being made to provide the necessary resources to address the gap between policy and practice identified in the Study on Familicide and Domestic and Family Violence Deaths, July 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14531/26]
View answerMy Department is progressing recommendations arising from the independent Study on Familicide and Domestic & Family Violence Deaths Reviews which were prioritised following a consultation process that took place in 2024. The consultations involved three dedicated groups; a cross functional Interdepartmental Group, an Advisory Group of relevant NGOs, and a family consultation group made up of the bereaved families of victims of familicide and domestic homicide who shared their experiences of the criminal justice system.
One of the key priorities identified by the consultation groups, in respect of guardianship rights, is advancing. In April of last year, I secured Cabinet approval for drafting of legislation that will, in certain situations, remove guardianship rights from individuals convicted of killing their partner or the other parent of their child. The primary aim of the proposed legislative changes under the General Scheme of the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill 2025 is the promotion of child protection and welfare. The Court will be required to consider in these cases whether a revocation of guardianship would be in the best interests of the child. Drafting of this legislation, which is a Programme for Government commitment, is underway.
In addition, further scoping is being carried out, in partnership with relevant stakeholders, in relation to the Study’s recommendations for the establishment of Multi-Agency Critical Planning and Response (MACPAR) teams in each Garda region to support close family members of victims in the most competent, caring and efficient way in the future. Their purpose will be to co-ordinate agency critical incident responses and develop protocols to ensure that there is a consistency in responses across the country following incidents of domestic homicide or familicide.
My Department is also developing a Domestic Homicide Review model for Ireland as per the recommendations made in the Study. The purpose of these reviews is to identify the circumstances surrounding the death, lessons to be learned, and to make recommendations to improve systemic responses to those in need or at risk, in order to help prevent similar deaths in future. I have directed that this work be prioritised. It is anticipated that the scope of the Domestic Homicide Review process will include cases where children have died by, or through, the actions of a relative, where the cause and context of the death appears to be as a result of violence, abuse or neglect, as well as cases where the death of a child has, or appears to have, resulted from violence by someone to whom the deceased was not related but which occurred during an incident of domestic or family violence.
In this regard, my Department is liaising with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality as lead Department for the Child Death Review process, given the potential similarities of the two mechanisms, both aimed at attempting to draw learnings on how state agencies have performed their functions, in the interests of developing effective law and policy to better protect children in future.
