Domestic violence register should include more crimes, committee hears

Committee chairman Matt Carthy said the current legislation seemed 'quite restrictive' on the offences included

Many offences under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 — such as assault causing harm, non-fatal strangulation, threats to kill, endangerment and false imprisonment — can be tried both summarily (in the lower district courts) and the higher circuit courts. Those tried in the district court would not currently be included in the register. File picture

Government proposals to create a ‘domestic violence register’ should include a far wider range of offences, including more minor crimes, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Both domestic violence groups and the family of murder victim Jennifer Poole have urged the proposal to have the judgements on the register for just three years be lengthened.

The Oireachtas Justice Committee did hear concerns, and differing opinions, as to whether or not the names of the victims should be included in the register, not least to protect the privacy of children.

The General Scheme of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences, Domestic Violence, and International Instruments) Bill 2025 proposes the establishment of a ‘Domestic Violence Register of Judgements’, which would include court judgements for certain sexual offences or violent physical offences against a partner.

Women’s Aid chief executive Sarah Benson said harassment and stalking offences from 1997 legislation and harmful communications offences from 2020 laws should be included.

She said coercive control and many offences under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 — such as assault causing harm, non-fatal strangulation, threats to kill, endangerment and false imprisonment — can be tried both summarily (in the lower district courts) and the higher circuit courts.

But she said those tried in the district court would not currently be included in the register, which also incorporated summary convictions for breaches, often multiple, of domestic violence orders.

She said all of these should be included, as it better captures the common patterns of abusive behaviour.

Cairbre Finan of the Law Society said the current proposals do not include Section 2 (minor) assault in the 1997 act, which was the offence Garda Trevor Bolger was convicted of last Friday, on then wife Margaret Loftus.

Committee chairman Matt Carthy of Sinn Féin said that the current legislation seemed “quite restrictive” on the offences included.

Jason Poole, brother of Jennifer, backed calls at the committee to include a far wider range of offences.

His sister was a 24-year-old mother when she was murdered at her home by then partner Gavin Murphy in April 2021. In court, they discovered Murphy had served time for domestic violence involving the use of a knife.

Mr Poole said his sister and other women have “no idea” of the past of these perpetrators and have “no way” of finding out to keep themselves or their children safe.

He said the proposed three-year time limit for judgments on the register had to be longer, to a minimum of 5-6 years, which, in cases where the perpetrator is imprisoned, should only start on release.

Offaly Domestic Violence Support Service CEO Anne Clarke agreed, and said that “every day” they see serial perpetrators. She said support workers go home on a Friday and “hope to see their client on Monday” such is the severity of the violence.

She said they did not think the name of the victim should be included in the register. Senator Michael McDowell also expressed serious concerns for the privacy of children.

The Law Society described the draft proposals as “blunt” for a complicated issue, where they said there are differing rights.

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