By seeking to remove the defence of 'reasonable chastisement' from common law, Minister for Children, Dr. James Reilly, intends to implement a ban on parents smacking their children.
Under the new proposals which will be brought to the Cabinet by Dr. Reilly this week, parents and child carers will be forbidden from slapping a child as a mode of punishment.
The move comes following a Council of Europe ruling which stated that the lack of a clear ban on smacking in Ireland violates children's rights - an issue which Dr. Reilly asserted he would address in conjunction with the Department of Justice.
Despite the proposed new legislation, it is understood that no new offence will be created nor will any new laws be introduced which explicitly ban the smacking of children, but by removing the defence Dr. Reilly hopes it will lead to an effective ban.
Commenting on the move, a source confirmed the details, saying: "There is no new offence being created, there is no fresh legislation being created for a corporal punishment ban."
Clarifying the various facets of the proposal, the source continued: "We already have laws to prevent us from hitting one another. The new initiative would prevent persons, charged under laws already in place, from having recourse to the defence of reasonable chastisement."
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