Dr. Niall Muldoon:

Regarding corporal punishment, I think we are on the same page. It is time to remove the defence of reasonable chastisement. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs said yesterday that he would prohibit corporal punishment within all State care scenarios. If corporal punishment is banned for children in State care but it is still okay to allow the defence within the home, such a position would be untenable. We would encourage the removal of that defence.

I refer to adoption information. The recommendation was that the State should bring forward legislative proposals regarding information and tracing and ensure that they respect fully the rights of the adopted person. In addition, the Adoption Act 2010 should be further amended to provide for more open forms of adoption and a statutory basis for post-adoption services. The right to know one's background and parentage is crucial.

On gender recognition, Senator van Turnhout suggested we consider the recommendation that a 16 year old would be able to have the right to his or her own gender identification.