DOMESTIC VIOLENCE JUDGMENTS REGISTER ACT 2026

An Act to amend the Domestic Violence Act 2018 to provide for the setting up of a Domestic Violence Judgments Register in which judgments containing certain information in relation to the conviction of persons of certain offences may, on the order of a court, be contained; to specify the circumstances in which a judgment may be included in the Register; and to provide for related matters.

[21st July, 2026]

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

1. Register of judgments in relation to convictions for certain offences related to domestic violence

1. The Domestic Violence Act 2018 is amended by the insertion of the following Part after Part 3:

“PART 3A

Register of judgments in relation to convictions for certain offences related to domestic violence

40A. (1) The Courts Service shall establish and maintain, in such form as it considers appropriate, a register (in this section referred to as the ‘Register’) to be made available to the public on its website and to be known as the Domestic Violence Judgments Register.

• (2) Where—

  • (a) a person (in this section referred to as a ‘convicted person’) is convicted on indictment of an offence specified in subsection (11),

  • (b) a penalty has been imposed on the convicted person in respect of the offence,

  • (c) the person against whom the offence was committed (in this section referred to as the ‘victim’) is a relevant person, and

  • (d) subject to subsection (4), the victim so consents,

  the court may, at its discretion, order the inclusion in the Register of a judgment containing the information specified in subsection (5).

• (3) The court shall stay the inclusion of a judgment in the Register until the period in which an appeal against the conviction can be made has expired without an appeal having been made, or where an appeal has been made, until the conviction has been upheld.

• (4) In relation to subsection (2)(d), where the victim is deceased, it shall be at the discretion of the court as to whether a judgment is to be included in the Register.

• (5) A judgment referred to in subsection (2) shall contain the following information:

  • (a) the name of the convicted person;

  • (b) where available, the age of the convicted person;

  • (c) subject to subsection (6) and where available, the residential address of the convicted person;

  • (d) particulars of the offence of which the convicted person was convicted;

  • (e) particulars of the penalty imposed on the convicted person in respect of the offence.

• (6) The court may, at its discretion, omit the residential address of the convicted person from a judgment referred to in subsection (2) where it considers that it is in the interests of justice to do so.

• (7) Nothing in this section shall require that the victim be named in a judgment referred to in subsection (2).

• (8) A court shall not order the inclusion in the Register of a judgment referred to in subsection (2) unless the convicted person concerned is aged 18 or above at the time of the commission of the offence concerned.

• (9) A convicted person may make an application, on notice to the Director of Public Prosecutions and to such persons as the court may direct are appropriate to be consulted, which may include the victim, to a court of the same jurisdiction as the court where he or she was convicted—

  • (a) where he or she was not sentenced to imprisonment for the offence concerned or where he or she was sentenced to a term of imprisonment that has been wholly suspended, after 3 years from the date of the imposition of a penalty,

  • (b) where he or she was sentenced to imprisonment for a determinate term for the offence concerned, some or all of which term was not suspended, after 3 years from the earlier of—

    • (i) the date of expiry of the remaining term of imprisonment with allowance for any period of remission of sentence, or

    • (ii) where applicable, the date of his or her release on parole in accordance with the Parole Act 2019,

    or

  • (c) where he or she was sentenced to imprisonment for life for the offence concerned, after 3 years from the date of his or her release on parole in accordance with the Parole Act 2019,

  for an order to remove the judgment referred to in subsection (2) concerning him or her from the Register.

• (10) In deciding whether to make an order under subsection (9), the court shall have regard to—

  • (a) any subsequent convictions of the applicant,

  • (b) any acts of rehabilitation undertaken by the applicant, and

  • (c) the views of the victim, where these have been articulated.

• (11) The offences referred to in subsection (2) are the following:

  • (a) murder;

  • (b) manslaughter;

  • (c) rape;

  • (d) rape under section 4 of the Act of 1990;

  • (e) sexual assault within the meaning of section 2 of the Act of 1990;

  • (f) aggravated sexual assault within the meaning of section 3 of the Act of 1990;

  • (g) an offence under any of the following provisions of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997—

    • (i) section 3;

    • (ii) section 3A;

    • (iii) section 4;

    • (iv) section 4A;

    • (v) section 5;

    • (vi) section 10;

    • (vii) section 13;

    • (viii) section 15;

  • (h) an offence under section 39(1);

  • (i) an offence under section 2 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020.

• (12) In this section, a person is a ‘relevant person’ in respect of a convicted person if he or she, at the time of the commission of the offence referred to in subsection (2)(a)—

  • (a) was or had previously been the spouse or civil partner of the convicted person, or

  • (b) was not or had not previously been the spouse or civil partner of the convicted person and was not related to the convicted person within a prohibited degree of relationship but was or had previously been in an intimate relationship with the convicted person.

• (13) In this section, ‘Act of 1990’ means the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990.”.

2. Amendment of section 7 of Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981

2. Section 7(8) of the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981 is amended—

• (a) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “offence,” for “offence, or”, and

• (b) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

• “(aa) prohibits the inclusion of a judgment in the Domestic Violence Judgments Register pursuant to section 40A of the Domestic Violence Act 2018, or”.

3. Amendment of section 10A of Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997

3. Section 10A of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (8):

• “(8A) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the inclusion of a judgment in the Domestic Violence Judgments Register pursuant to section 40A of the Domestic Violence Act 2018.”.

4. Amendment of section 5 of Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020

4. Section 5 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (6):

• “(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the inclusion of a judgment in the Domestic Violence Judgments Register pursuant to section 40A of the Domestic Violence Act 2018.”.

5. Short title and commencement

5. (1) This Act may be cited as the Domestic Violence Judgments Register Act 2026.

• (2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration may by order or orders appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.