Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Jason and Joe Poole and David French to the Visitors Gallery.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of this Bill, which is known as Jennie's law. I welcome that at its heart it rests on a simple principle: when a person is convicted of a serious crime in an open court, that conviction is public and the public are entitled to know what it is about. I acknowledge first and above all, Jennifer Poole and her family who turned the most profound grief imaginable into a campaign for change. Jennie was murdered by her ex-partner in 2021. She was a mother, a daughter and a sister. That this law now carries her name is a measure of her family's courage. We owe it to them and to her memory to get it right.

Let me set out what this Bill is about. It inserts a new Part, Part 3A, into the Domestic Violence Act 2018. It establishes a register of judgments, maintained by the Courts Service and made available to the public on a website, for serious domestic violence convictions on indictment. Where a trial of judge deems it appropriate and subject to the victim's consent, a judgment setting out that the conviction and the sentence can be published will be under a clear, findable heading of a domestic violence register of judgments.

I will be clear about what this is and what it is not. It is not an additional form of punishment. It supplements the publicity a case already receives through media attendance and reporting on proceedings. What it adds is durability and accessibility because reporting fades but a register endures. It helps a person who is in a relationship, or considering one, to ascertain whether the person they are involved with has a history of a serious domestic violence conviction. That is information that can save a life. We have built this carefully. This register links, as far as possible, with domestic violence services. Anyone consulting it, whether for themselves or for someone they are worried about, is directed towards real support. Inclusion is at the discretion of the court.

Of course, lots of ladies have said here that a register alone is not a solution. It is one part of a broader comprehensive strategy. In that context, it sits within a record of sustained reform since 2020. We have moved from a fragmented system to a co-ordinated national response, including the third national zero-tolerance strategy; the establishment of Cuan, which is a dedicated agency providing leadership and oversight; a stand-alone offence of stalking, which carries penalties of up to ten years; a new offence of non-fatal strangulation; and the doubling of the maximum sentence for assault causing harm. This is not the only reforming law before us. Alongside this, the Minister will advance Valerie's law, to remove guardianship rights for those convicted of killing their partners. Each of these answers a real need voiced by real families.

We are backing these reforms with resources of almost €80 million under budget 2026 for front-line services. These include a commitment to deliver hundreds of safe spaces, new refuge units, new safe homes significantly increasing capacity nationwide, and an EU-level agreement reached in December on the victims' rights directive, which Ireland will move to transpose. Taken together, these measures represent real, tangible progress across funding, legislation, prevention and victim support.

Today our focus is on one family, one name and one principle - that the public are entitled to know. I welcome this Bill. I commend Jennie's family on their extraordinary advocacy. I acknowledge the role of Senator Fiona O'Loughlin and Deputy Paul McAuliffe. I urge every Member to support it, as has already happened here, and I thank them all for their support.