Domestic Violence Judgments Register Bill 2026: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-16 ============================================================ Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel I acknowledge Jason and Joe Poole and all their tireless advocacy. It is testament to how hard they have worked for their sister and daughter to get this over the line. I thank them very much. I acknowledge David French for all of the work that he has done for his sister, Valerie. The Social Democrats welcome this Bill. The introduction of a register has a potential to act as a crucial safeguard for women suffering from abuse. All too often women are killed by men. Frequently, it is their former or current partners who have prior convictions for domestic violence. All too often women have no knowledge of this. As we know, this was tragically the case for Jennifer Poole. I join colleagues in acknowledging the tireless work of her family to bring this Bill to fruition and of Fianna Fáil Senators to ensure that her legacy will protect and empower countless other women who are facing the same situation, and what a legacy to have. Several recommendations were made on the proposed register during pre-legislative scrutiny that I wish to raise with the Minister. First, concerns remain that the range of offences covered by the Bill are too narrow. While I welcome the inclusion of harassment and stalking offences under section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, as well as offences under section 2 of Coco's Law, the committee also recommended the inclusion of offences under section 4 of Coco's Law. Why has that not been reflected in the Bill? Furthermore, the committee recommended that relevant summary convictions be included on the register, particularly breaches of domestic violence orders, especially in incidences where there are multiple convictions. Under the current proposals, such convictions would not meet the threshold for inclusion. This is creating a real false sense of security as a woman may presume that a partner who does not appear on the register poses no risk despite having a history of domestic convictions that fall below the legislative threshold. Another significant concern raised was the need to protect against potential retaliation by perpetrators. Several stakeholders warned that victims may be deterred from releasing their name to the register for the fear of retribution with Rape Crisis Ireland noting that the possibility of such a register being publicly accessible could present a risk to victims and their families. That is particularly relevant in smaller communities and rural communities. The public availability of information disclosed to the register could make it relatively easy to identify a victim. We need to carefully consider these risks. A more controlled disclosure model may be preferable whereby a current partner can direct request for relative information. I note the concerns around the time that a perpetrator remains on that register and concerns that is, in fact, too narrow. This is a welcome measure, but it will not solve femicide alone. I note the tragic death today of Noreen Daly, a woman in her 80s in Waterford who was killed in her home. We urgently need a host of other interventions from the Government as domestic violence and gender-based violence figures increase, and women continue to be killed. It feels like almost weekly this year that we read of another woman who has been killed. That includes reform of the civil legal aid system, which the Minister is working on. I have concerns that he is not reforming it against the minority report. It includes raising the eligibility thresholds so survivors can access justice. It includes more housing and more refuge space for survivors, as noted by Senator Cosgrove, and stronger measures to remove perpetrators from homes because we see woman in this cyclical place where they can call a number and seek support but they are worried that they are going to go into homelessness and they do not take that step. As we know, leaving is the one of the most dangerous times in a survivor-victim's life. They do not feel that they have anywhere safe to go. They worry they are going to end up in homeless accommodation. Legislation is coming to the Chamber this week, but we need to ensure that survivors are not forced to choose between counselling and pursuing a case and access to justice. It will require stricter regulation. Regarding the tech companies, we do not talk about it all the time in this space, but we see harmful online culture that endangers women and children and misogynistic norms being promoted by online platforms. This is part of the ecosystem. When we talk about prevention, we have to talk about education. We have to stamp it out in our online spaces and every aspect where we see this kind of violence being normalised. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-16/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:03+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-16