Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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28. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his plans to introduce an outright ban on corporal punishment and in doing so to remove the reasonable chastisement defence, in order to bring Ireland in line with our commitments under the European Social Charter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19802/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Considerable progress has been made to restrict the use of corporal punishment in Ireland. Corporal punishment in schools is banned, regulations and standards for creches, foster care and residential settings address the use of appropriate discipline. In order to copperfasten the position with regard to care settings, I have instructed officials in my Department to prepare regulations providing for the explicit prohibition of corporal punishment where a child, in the care of the State, is placed in foster care, foster care with relatives or in residential care.

Corporal punishment in the home, while not specifically outlawed, is subject to provisions of certain laws, namely, the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997 which deals with the assault of any person and Section 246 of the Children Act, 2001 which deals with cruelty to children. In the case of parents, or persons acting in loco parentis(other than teachers), a common law defence of reasonable chastisement may be available where a prosecution arises. Such a defence exists in a number of common law countries. While corporal punishment of children is unacceptable in all instances it is important to clarify that the defence is not an immunity and it is a matter for a court to objectively determine what is ‘reasonable’ in the context of the currently applicable social norms.

The established position has been that to remove the common law defence would, in principle, expose the family extensively to the intrusion of the criminal law. However, my Department has commenced work, including consultation with the Department of Justice and Equality, on examining the possibility within the Irish legal framework for removing the common law defence.

All aspects of the issue of a total prohibition of corporal punishment whether from a policy, legislative or constitutional perspective continue to be kept under review. More broadly, significant progress continues to be made in relation to the Government’s commitment to protect the rights of children, including the amendment to the Constitution in relation to children’s rights, progress in relation to fundamental reform of the child protection services with the establishment of the Child and Family Agency, and drafting legislation in relation to putting Children First on a statutory basis.