Senator Feargal Quinn today March 4th 2015 published a Bill – the Succession (Amendment) Bill 2015 - to ensure that a joint tenant who murders another joint tenant cannot profit from his/her crime.

The Bill provides that where one joint tenant kills another, the offender will have no entitlement to the victim’s share in the property and in addition the offender will be denied the opportunity to avail of his or her own share in the property. In those circumstances, the victim's interest in the property and the offender's interest in the property will both pass to the estate of the victim.

Senator Quinn commented: “The idea that a person should not be allowed to profit from his crime is a well-known tenet of our criminal justice system. It is a principle which needs to be far more strongly reflected in our law.”

He added: “We have seen cases where one joint tenant unlawfully kills another with a view to seizing control of jointly owned property, ultimately making large financial gains from the proceeds of a subsequent sale. There is a duty on us as legislators to move to close off this gap in the law which gives rise to a perverted incentive for a joint tenant with malicious intent to kill another joint tenant.”

Senator Quinn called on the Minister for Justice, Frances Fitzgerald to act swiftly and support the Bill when it comes before the Seanad: “I'm calling on the Minister to recognise the importance of the proposal which I set out in this Bill and to support the Bill when it comes before the Seanad later this month”.