Children First Act 2015

The Children First Act 2015 (Act No. 36 of 2015) is an Act of the Oireachtas.

Children First Act 2015
Oireachtas
Long title An Act for the purposes of making further and better provision for the care and protection of children and for those purposes to require the preparation, by certain providers of services to children, of child safeguarding statements; to require certain persons to make reports to the Child and Family Agency in respect of children in certain circumstances; to require certain persons to assist the Child and Family Agency in certain circumstances; to provide for the establishment of the Children First Inter-Departmental Implementation Group; to make provision for the preparation of sectoral implementation plans by Departments of State; to provide for the abolition of the common law defence of reasonable chastisement and, for that purpose, to amend the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 ; and to provide for related matters.
Citation	No. 36 of 2015
Territorial extent	Ireland
Passed by	Dáil
Passed	14 July 2015
Passed by	Seanad
Passed	21 October 2015
Signed by	President Michael D. Higgins
Signed	19 November 2015
Commenced	Commenced in part: 11 December 2015 1 May 2016 11 December 2017
Legislative history
First chamber: Dáil
Bill title	Children First Bill 2014
Bill citation	No. 30 of 2014
Introduced by	Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (James Reilly)
Introduced	10 April 2014
Committee responsible	Health
First reading	30 April 2014
Second reading	7 May 2014
Considered by the Health Committee	11 November 2014
Report and Final Stage	14 July 2015
Second chamber: Seanad
Second reading	21 July 2015
Considered in committee	23 September 2015
Report and Final Stage	21 October 2015
Final stages
Seanad amendments considered by the Dáil	21 October 2015
Finally passed both chambers	21 October 2015
Status: In force

Background

Ireland banned physical punishment against children in Irish schools since 1996.^[1]

The European Committee of Social Rights ruled that Ireland had failed to remedy Article 17 (the right of mothers and children to social and economic protection) by prohibiting corporal punishment of children.^[2]

The Minister for Justice committed to legislate to bring Ireland into 'full compliance' with the ruling.^[3]

Commencement of the law

On 11 December 2015, the provision to ban smacking came into force.^[4]

Impact

In 2020, Ireland was noted as still having a 'relatively high' acceptance of slapping children despite the ban on smacking.^[5]