'Crucial' families make contact with familicide review group

The head of a new familicide review group has said it is "crucial" that families come forward to tell their stories.

Norah Gibbons, who will lead an independent study on domestic homicide, said bereaved relatives will be listened to and their contributions will form part of her recommendations.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan announced the establishment of the new specialist review group after Cabinet today.

The move comes after Mr Flanagan met the family of Clodagh Hawe earlier this year to discuss her murder.

Ms Hawe, 39, was killed along with her three young sons by her husband, the children’s father, Alan Hawe in the family home in Cavan in August 2016.

The study, which will take 12 months and will cost at least €200,000, will look at the supports that are available to families who are victims of familicide. It will also examine international best practice around domestic homicide reviews.

Fianna Fáil tabled a Bill in March which would allow the Minister for Justice to order a review whenever a domestic homicide occurs.

While domestic homicide reviews already take place in England and Wales, Mr Flanagan said the same model cannot be used here and would need to be tailored for this jurisdiction. The review group will examine this and make recommendations.

Ms Gibbons said the contributions of families will be "crucial" adding that without these personal accounts her work would be pointless.

"What I want people to feel is that they can come and talk to me or one of my team, but mostly I think to myself.

They will get an empathetic hearing. They will not be promised the sun the moon and the stars, but will be promised - and I think will be delivered - a solution that suits Ireland and that can happen quickly. I don't think it's something that can be delayed.

Social worker Ms Gibbons will be joined by a small team of experts who will carry out the work.

Ms Gibbons was previously a member of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, chaired the Roscommon Child Abuse Inquiry and co-chaired the Independent Review Group on Child Deaths. She was also the first chairperson of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.

"It was an honour to be asked. It is also dealing with an area of work - children and families - that has always been my bread and butter and that I always wanted to deal with,"she said.

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald called for the study to progress "as a matter of urgency" and to focus on delivering an independent multi-agency system of review in Ireland.

"Families of domestic homicide victims want the issue of additional funding supports be placed front and centre. Such funding streams must be multi-annual to provide for adequate resourcing of front line support organisations and enable them to develop services appropriately," she said.

Sinn Féin has already published a policy paper committing to the introduction of independent statutory multi-agency domestic homicide reviews similar to those already in place in England and Wales.

Ms McDonald said: “Unlike the current Garda-led system of review, the process in Britain is independent, with reviews automatically established on a regional basis following a murder in the home. Their reviews include all relevant state agencies, for example social and health services, domestic violence service providers, families of the victims and their friends and work colleagues. Currently, the Gardaí and state agencies like Tusla do not have an information sharing system in place."

She said this review system would not replace criminal investigations or inquests but instead would provide invaluable data on the circumstances leading up to the crime and how agencies can improve.