It's an issue which has been debated on a number of occasions but as of tomorrow, new measures banning the smacking of children will be introduced. According to The Independent, Minister for Children James Reilly signed a commencement order this afternoon which will see the "reasonable chastisement" defence abolished. In other words, any parent who slaps their child will not be able to rely on this defence in a court of law. Speaking about the change, Minister Reilly said: “The removal of the Common Law defence 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."