'No specifics around timeframes' for guidelines on reviews of domestic violence and familicide cases

Kathleen Chada with a picture of her sons Eoghan and Ruairi Chada. Picture: Dylan Vaughan

"We all sat in a room with the goal of making Ireland a safer place, especially for women and children.

"There has not been respect for what we have been through."

Kathleen Chada, whose sons Eoghan and Ruairi were killed by their father, Sanjeev, in 2013, is one of several relatives of victims of domestic violence and familicide who helped the Government formulate guidelines to review such crimes in 2023.

However, three years later, the Department of Justice has confirmed there are "currently no specifics around timeframes" for their introduction.

There have been 11 deaths connected to familicide or domestic violence so far this year — nine women, one man, and one child.

Ms Chada, who was one of 10 relatives of victims who were on a family forum group that worked with the Department of Justice, says she is frustrated that despite attending several meetings in 2024, there has been little contact with families since.

"Every single meeting [with the department] was very emotional," she said. 

"We all sat in a room with the goal of making Ireland a safer place, especially for women and children. It feels like, as a process, there has not been respect for what we have been through."

Cork woman Maria Dempsey, whose daughter Alicia Brough was killed alongside her friend Sarah Hines, and her two children, by Sarah’s former partner John Geary in 2010, said such reviews of these killings are vital.

"It is really important, these are all things we should be understanding, why they happened, and registering it."

The Department of Justice told the Irish Examiner that other actions have already been undertaken as a result of recommendations made in the 2023 study, including the introduction of the Guardianship of Infants and Child Care (Amendment) Act 2026, also known as Valerie’s Law.

The statement said that a model for domestic homicide reviews is currently "under active consideration by the Department, including consideration of whether supporting legislation will be required".

It added: "The objective of Domestic Homicide Reviews is to identify the circumstances surrounding deaths that have occurred 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.

"It is intended that cases involving the death of a child which occurred during an incident of domestic or family violence will, in principle, be subject to review through this mechanism, together with other domestic homicides."

Such reviews are currently in place in the UK and Northern Ireland.