Abusers convicted of serious domestic violence will have their names included on a publicly available register for the first time, under a new law designed to allow those with concerns to check whether their partner has a violent past.<\/p>\n
Minister for Justice Jim O\u2019Callaghan<\/a> will bring a Bill creating a new domestic violence register to Cabinet this week. The proposed legislation will be known as Jennie\u2019s Law, and the Government plans to have the landmark law enacted before the D\u00e1il summer recess. <\/p>\n The Domestic Violence (Judgments) Register Bill 2026 will be known as Jennie\u2019s law in honour of Jennifer Poole, a 24-year-old mother of two who was murdered by her former partner Gavin Murphy in 2021<\/a>. Poole did not know that Murphy had a history of abusive behaviour, including a conviction for assaulting a former partner. <\/p>\n The Poole family, who have campaigned for a new domestic violence register in honour of their sister and daughter, believe that had Jennifer might still be alive had she known about Murphy\u2019s previous convictions. <\/p>\n Under the law, abusers who are convicted of serious domestic and sexual violence will now have their names included on a public list as part of the conviction process. The list will be on the Courts Service website, and the names of perpetrators will only be included with the consent of the victim. <\/p>\n [\u00a0Domestic violence register will not breach perpetrators\u2019 rights, Minister for Justice saysOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Those convicted of a range of serious offences including murder, manslaughter, rape, sexual assault, non-fatal strangulation, harassment, coercive control and non-consensual sharing of intimate images will be named on the list. This is the first time that such a publicly available list will be compiled and shared by the justice system. <\/p>\n O\u2019Callaghan had previously been critical of the fact that a person found guilty of a serious offence might only be publicly named if a journalist happened to be present in court when they were convicted or sentenced. <\/p>\n \u201cIf a person is convicted of a serious criminal offence before the courts, that is a public conviction, and the public are entitled to know about that conviction,\u201d O\u2019Callaghan said. <\/p>\n