520. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current status of the recommendations of the 2023 Study on Familicide and Domestic and Family Violence Death Reviews; and to outline the work conducted by his Department to date to implement the recommendations. [47349/26]

521. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide an update on the publication of the final report on the Study on Familicide, Domestic and Family Violence; to provide a reasoning for the delay in publication; and to provide a timeline for the publication of the final report. [47356/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 520 and 521 together.

The independent Study on Familicide and Domestic & Family Violence Deaths Reviews was published in 2023. There are currently no plans to publish any further reports on it.

My Department is progressing recommendations arising from the Study 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. I'm informed that consultations with the groups have concluded and a paper on this process, and detailing the progress made in relation to the recommendations made under the Study, will be sent to me in due course.

In terms of the work of the Department in implementing the recommendations, one of the key priorities identified by the consultation groups in respect of guardianship rights has advanced. In April 2025, 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 Guardianship of Infants and Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2026 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. The Bill, known as Valerie’s Law in memory of Valerie French, completed all stages in the Dáil on 17 June 2026.

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. 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 the work to develop the Domestic Homicide Review process be progressed as a matter of priority. 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 DCDE, 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.