2360. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to update the House on progress made in implementing the recommendations on the Domestic Homicide Reviews in the Study on Familicide and Domestic and Family Violence Deaths, July 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58232/26]

The independent Study on Familicide and Domestic & Family Violence Deaths Reviews was published in 2023. While there are no plans at present to publish any further reports on it, my Department is advancing work aimed at better understanding and aiming to prevent instances of familicide.

This includes progressing recommendations arising from the Study which were prioritised following a subsequent consultation process. These 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.

The group met monthly over a six-month period to review each strand of recommendations. On the basis of a paper summarising these consultations, I directed that work be prioritised in respect of three key areas identified for action by the consultation groups; guardianship rights, multi-agency coordination and response, and establishment of a mechanism for review of domestic homicides.

Work on implementing these actions is progressing. The Guardianship of Infants and Child Care (Amendment) Act 2026 was signed into law by President Connolly on 21 July 2026 and will allow for the removal of guardianship rights of a person who has been convicted of killing the other parent of their child. The primary aim of the legislative changes under the Act 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.

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, further scoping is being carried out in partnership with relevant stakeholders. The purpose of MACPAR teams 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 in the context of intimate partner violence, lessons to be learned, and to make recommendations to improve systemic responses to those in need or at risk, aiming to help prevent similar deaths in future. At present, officials in my Department are seeking to determine if legislation is required to support a review mechanism.

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 the future.