Domestic Violence Judgments Register Bill 2026: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-25
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

I thank Senators Harmon and Cosgrove for putting forward both of these amendments. The purpose of the amendments is to try to ensure that the person who is referred to in the judgment that is published is identifiable.
If we look at how things operate at present, it can be quite instructive as to how we should approach this. Part of the reason I am introducing this legislation is because people can be convicted of serious indictable offences in the Circuit Criminal Court or the Central Criminal Court yet nobody is aware of it unless there happens to be a journalist in court. If we take the example, however, where there is a journalist in court, we can see that information is frequently published in newspapers about reports of convictions. The person is identified. Sometimes, their photograph is not available. We see people covering their faces coming out of court. There is a mechanism whereby they are identifiable. Sometimes, it is in the context of the victims identifying themselves. It is the case that there is a mechanism to ensure that people are known – who they are and what they have been convicted of.
It is the case in Ireland that many people share the same name and there are such people from the same townland. I did give consideration to what is being proposed by Senator Harmon – to include the date of birth of the convicted person. At present, what is required is the name, age and residential address, subject to subsection (6), of the convicted person and other particulars of the offence for which the convicted person was convicted, as well as the penalty imposed on the convicted person. Ultimately, I left it as the age of the person as opposed to putting in the specific date of birth because the departmental officials and I had concerns about the inclusion of a full date of birth, particularly when combined with other personal details such as, potentially, a residential address.
The fear was that this could significantly increase the risk of misuse of personal data, including via identity theft, because somebody would have access to a person's name, potentially his or her address and his or her date of birth. I have decided that the person's age will be included. That is very much an identifying factor. It is probably equally as identifying a factor as a date of birth since most people are not aware of individuals' date of birth.
On amendment No. 4, which proposes to include the court record number associated with the proceedings, I am not persuaded that this information would materially assist in identifying an offender. Court record numbers are highly specific administrative references and are unlikely to be readily available or known to members of the public who are seeking to verify an individual's identity through the register.
While I will obviously keep this under review, overall, I am satisfied that the combination of the offender's name, age and, where appropriate, residential address, together with the other information necessarily contained in the written judgment, will provide sufficient information to identify an offender accurately. I therefore believe that the register as currently structured strikes an appropriate balance between ensuring effective identification of offenders and safeguarding personal data while also remaining fully capable of achieving its intended objectives. I will obviously keep it under review, however. If it needs to be expanded after enactment, I will certainly give consideration to other factors.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-25