- Early intervention initiative to provide immediate support for children impacted by domestic violence
- Pilot scheme to launch building on experience of schools in Northern Ireland
19 March 2026
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, has convened a cross-border meeting in advance of legislation he is introducing to allow for the introduction of Operation Encompass.
Operation Encompass will provide for information sharing between An Garda Síochána and school authorities to strengthen protections for children impacted by violence in the home.
Operation Encompasshas been successfully operating in schools across Northern Ireland since 2021. Minister O’Callaghan is now legislating to introduce the initiative in this jurisdiction.
Operation Encompass involves a notification process whereby An Garda Síochána will inform a child’s school within 24 hours of attending a domestic violence incident at the child’s home. This is to ensure that designated school staff are aware that a child has experienced a violent and traumatic incident and can therefore provide the child with additional care and support during the school day.
In Drogheda today members from An Garda Síochána, the PSNI, school principals, education partners and government officials North and South came together to exchange information and lessons learned from rolling out Operation Encompass across Northern Ireland.
Operation Encompass was first introduced in the North in 2021 as a pilot involving 60 schools in Downpatrick. It has since been extended to all 1,162 schools in Northern Ireland. In the most recent reporting year, approximately 60,000 incidents were notified through the programme.
Minister O’Callaghan said,
“A central feature of the government’s approach to confronting domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence is the recognition of children as victims and survivors of domestic violence in their own right.
“I recently met with Minister Naomi Long and we discussed the benefits and impact that Operation Encompass is having in Northern Ireland. Today’s event is about learning from those at the frontline of this initiative in the North.
“Children who experience domestic abuse, including violence in the home, can be profoundly affected and require timely, appropriate, and child centred responses that recognise their specific needs and circumstances.
“Operation Encompass is a safeguarding measure that supports the wellbeing of children by providing immediate care and support in the school environment to help reduce the impact of trauma.”
Minister O’Callaghan added,
“Work is underway to introduce a pilot in Drogheda which will mirror the initial pilot in Downpatrick. North-South cooperation on this initiative is supported through the Shared Island Initiative at the Department of the Taoiseach. This will be followed by a national rollout to all schools when the necessary legislation has been enacted.
“Today’s event is an important step in North-South collaboration, and I want to thank all those involved for their work and dedication in helping to develop this important initiative. This work will provide an island-wide mechanism for supporting children’s wellbeing as part of our shared commitment to confronting domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.”
Among the attendees today were Dr Stephanie O’Keefe, CEO of Cuan, and Grainne Berrill, Director of the National Office for Community Safety.
Dr O’Keeffe noted,
“We know that teachers are often on the frontline supporting children affected by domestic violence, and that they need the right information at the right time to ensure children get the care they need. Operation Encompass aligns with existing safeguarding frameworks within the Irish education system, including statutory child protection obligations and the strong emphasis on pastoral care within schools.
“Cuan is supporting the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to deliver on the important commitment in Zero Tolerance; the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence to develop an operational framework to introduce Operation Encompass in the Irish system. Today’s event is a key opportunity to learn from our counterparts in Northern Ireland who have successfully rolled out the initiative to all schools and are generously sharing their experiences with us.”
Speaking at the meeting, Ms Berrill said,
“Operation Encompass is an excellent example of a community based, collaborative approach to harm prevention in relation to issues of community safety. Drogheda’s population size provides the right scale and mix of schools suitable to test the model in practice.
“The model was originally named as an action in the Drogheda Report Implementation Plan, a whole of government plan to improve community safety and wellbeing in the town led by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. The Louth Local Community Safety Partnership now has a role in supporting the delivery of such outstanding actions.
“The identification of Drogheda as the pilot site for Operation Encompass not only delivers on that action but also allows the collaborative relationships that were built in the delivery of that Plan to be leveraged in the rollout of the pilot in the area.”
The General Scheme of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences, Domestic Violence and International Instruments) Bill 2025 includes the enabling provisions that would allow Gardai inform a designated person in a school that a domestic violence incident has occurred in a pupil’s home. Minister O’Callaghan secured government approval on 21 October 2025.
Pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme took place on 20 January 2026.
Ends