Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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224. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he plans to legislate for the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964; and if so, when. [5147/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government commits the Government to examine proposals to remove guardianship rights from those convicted of killing their partners, or a parent of their child, as part of the ongoing work to implement appropriate recommendations from the Study on Familicide and Domestic and Family Violence Death Reviews.

This is a commitment which I view as a priority, and I intend to take appropriate legislative action at an early date.

By way of background, the independent review of familicide, published in May 2023, was commissioned by my Department in order to effectively respond to this difficult but important subject. As part of the review, there was extensive engagement with non-governmental organisations, with State agencies and most importantly with family members of victims.

Most of us cannot begin to understand the impact of something like this and I would like to express my gratitude to the families who selflessly engaged with the review for giving of themselves and their time. Indeed, family members are continuing to contribute to our work in this field and their input is vital.

A significant number of the recommendations made in the familicide review are being progressed as part of our work to tackle domestic abuse and protect victims. A team has been established in my Department to review and progress other recommendations made in the review, including a recommendation on restricting parental rights in cases of domestic homicide.

Examination of how to progress this recommendation includes consideration of the role and power of Tusla to take appropriate child protection action in emergency situations, the importance of putting the rights and voice of the child at the centre of our responses and ensuring that nothing is done that could prejudice a trial. Consultation has taken place with stakeholder groups comprising relevant officials, civil society partners and, most importantly, the families of victims, including those who contributed to the review.

Legislative changes are required to address this troubling issue and, as I have already indicated, progressing this issue is a priority for me.