Today, Children's Minister James Reilly signed a commencement order for the removal of the defence of "reasonable chastisement", as revealed by the Irish Independent.
This summer, MummyPages’ Mum-in-Residence Laura Haugh was invited by Senator Jill van Turnout to participate in the debate of the removal of the Common Law by the Houses of the Oireachtas, and there, the views of the MummyPages’ community were taken into consideration by the country's top policy-makers.
Commenting on the move at the time, Laura said: “Our MummyPages mums wholeheartedly support the campaign…While a small number of our mums have admitted to slapping their child in extreme circumstances where their safety was at risk, almost all agree that it is not an effective or acceptable disciplinary method to use on a regular or even occasional basis.”
The move means that, as of tomorrow, a person who administers corporal punishment on a child will no longer be able to use the defence of “reasonable chastisement”.
Speaking about the change, Minister Reilly said: “[The removal] sends a strong message which will, I hope, lead to a cultural change across Irish society that corporal punishment is wrong."
"We have not created any new offence but rather we are removing something that has its roots in a completely different era and societal context.”
