Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will introduce legislation that will give children the same legal protection from assault as adults; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25456/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997, it is an offence to assault any person, adult or child. Also, it is an offence under the Children Act 2001 for a person who has custody of a child to assault, ill-treat, neglect or abandon or expose a child in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to the child's health or seriously affect the child's well-being. The common law recognises the right of a parent to administer moderate or reasonable physical chastisement on a child. This right takes the form of the defence of reasonable chastisement in the event of prosecution. In order to rely successfully on this defence, the motive for, duration and force of physical punishment must be objectively reasonable. It would be for a court to decide what is objectively reasonable.

Government policy in this area is expressed in the National Children's Strategy, launched in November 2000. One of the objectives of the Strategy, which has a ten year life span, states "...As part of a policy of ending physical punishment, parenting courses will focus on alternative approaches to manage difficult behaviour in children". The Office of the Minister for Children is coordinating the Strategy. The present legal arrangements can be reviewed in light of developments arising from the Strategy.