Valerie's Law is about suspending guardianship held by parents who abuse children by killing the other parent. The campaign to bring in Valerie's Law started when her husband was convicted in 2024 of her 2019 murder. Despite the conviction he retains the guardianship of her three children.
Holly Cairns TD (SocDem) started work on a private member’s bill to implement Valerie’s Law in July 2024 and this was introduced to the Dail by Gary Gannon TD in April 2025.
In January 2025 the RTE program “Upfront with Katie Hannon” addressed Violence against Women and the panel included Jim O'Callaghan FF TD and Kathleen Funchion SF MEP who were both very supportive along with Sarah Benson of Women’s Aid. Jim O’Callaghan became the Minister for Justice soon after and Valerie’s Law was included in the new Program for Government as a commitment to "examine proposals to remove guardianship rights from those convicted of killing their partners or a parent of their child".
In April the Minister got Cabinet approval to proceed with legislation. The heads of Bill were discussed by the Oireachtas Committee chaired by Matt Carthy SF TD in July with the findings published in September. This included 30 recommendations to inform the final drafting of the legislation. In December the Minister said drafting work is ongoing and it is on the priority list for publication in this Dail session.
At a European level on February 10, 2025 Kathleen Funchion MEP formally called for the implementation of Valerie’s Law during a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg and on April 15th the EU Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath hosted a meeting with David French and Kathleen Funchion MEP in Brussels to discuss guardianship laws and the rights of the child across the European Union.
Multiple TDs and Senators including then Deputy Catherine Connolly, Deputy Ruth Coppinger (Solidarity - People Before Profit), Pa Daly (Sinn Féin), Neasa Hourigan (Green Party), Matt Carthy (Sinn Féin), Paul Murphy (Solidarity - People Before Profit), Michael Lowry (Independent), Michael Healy-Rae (Independent) and Christopher O'Sullivan (Fianna Fáil) have raised the issue of progress on Valerie’s Law in the Dail in 2025 both as oral and written questions.
On May 23, 2025 the book “For Valerie” was officially launched at the West Cork Arts Centre which covered the crime, murder trial and the need for new legislation in this area.
Domestic homicide is the sharp end of domestic abuse. Valerie’s Law is only one part of the multiple legislative updates required to address this issue. Beyond the campaign for Valerie’s Law the aftermath of the murder in 2025 has included three High Court appearances and two Circuit Court appearances. These have been to secure the right to be the legal personal representative for Valerie’s estate and to be a notice party for Valerie’s children (both against the murderer’s opposition) and also to make a personal injury claim against the murderer on their behalf. The value in documenting all this is to make it clear where further reforms are needed to benefit other families.
Further information and updates can be found at the website Valerie.rip and in the book “For Valerie”.