Slapping outlawed as final defence removed

No excuse for slapping a child will be accepted by the courts henceforth. The law has been changed to clarify a grey area that persisted for 155 years around physical punishment by parents and minders.

The move to abolish the justification of ‘reasonable chastisement’ means Ireland has become the 20th EU member state, and 47th country, to outlaw physical punishment, either directly by outright ban, or indirectly, as in this case.

The change will take effect when the Children First Bill becomes law, as it cannot be applied retrospectively, but that is expected to happen within months.