Irish parents have ‘moved away’ from smacking, says Fitzgerald

Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald has said Irish parents have "moved away" from smacking children but stressed the State wants to be in full compliance with Europe's leading human rights body.

A ruling by the Council of Europe that the lack of a clear ban on smacking here is a violation of young people’s rights has prompted the Government to announce plans to review the law in the area.

“The good news is that the vast majority of Irish parents don’t use physical punishment. It’s a tiny percentage. It’s very much been a situation of that evolving over the years,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

“I think the country has moved away quite honestly from physical punishment of children.”

Ms Fitzgerald said Ireland had “very robust laws” in place to protect children, including offences against the person.

She pointed to a number of cases where people were charged after using corporal punishment and she said the Children First guidelines were being put on a statutory basis.

“So I think parents in this country have made huge changes in relation to how they deal with children.”

However, she said she understood the Council of Europe’s finding. “We want to be in full compliance with it,” she added.

Asked if Ireland was behind the curve in the area when compared to the rest of Europe, Ms Fitzgerald said she did not believe so.

“Personally I don’t believe we are in terms of the reality of our laws. We don’t have a specific prohibition but we do have a potential charge that can be made on parents.

“But we want to be fully in compliance so Minister Reilly is now bringing forward further guidelines on children in residential care or childcare settings to prohibit specifically corporal punishment.”

She was speaking at a conference jointly hosted by the employers’ body Ibec and the Department of Justice in Dublin on Wednesday morning.