Claims Domestic Violence Register Urgently Needed In Clare

It's claimed a database is urgently needed in Clare and the MidWest to warn of offenders with a history of domestic and gender-based violence living in the area.

It comes as three separate motions are set come before the July meeting of Clare County Council this afternoon, calling on the local authority to declare it's support for Limerick assault victim Natasha O'Brien.

Natasha O'Brien was beaten by Clare soldier Cathal Crotty in an unprovoked assault as she was making her way from work in Limerick City in May 2022.

Last month, Crotty received a fully suspended sentence, although the DPP has now appealed the ruling on grounds of 'undue leniency', the decision had already sparked nationwide demonstrations and outrage.

Amid the storm of national frustration, Fianna Fáil Senator Fiona O'Loughlin is now calling for her legislation that would aim to establish a domestic violence register to proceed to committee stage within the Seanad as soon as possible.

The Sex Offenders Coercive Control Bill 2023 would allow any person entering an intimate relationship to access information on any convictions their partner may have.

Clare Haven Director of Services Dr Siobhán O'Connor says the system is urgently needed here.

In the year to April, the number of domestic incidents reported to Clare Gardaí jumped by 9%.

Executive Director of Rape Crisis Midwest, Siobhán O’Leary says believes introducing such a database would prevent more offences taking place and would spare women the traumatic ordeal of the judicial process.