Children First Legislation
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Published on
Last updated on
The Children First Act 2015, which was signed into law on 19 November 2015, puts elements of the Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children on a statutory footing. The legislation was a key Programme for Government commitment, and forms part of a suite of child protection legislation which includes the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts, 2012-2016 and the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012.
The Act provides for a number of key child protection measures, as follows:
The Act also includes a provision which abolished the common law defence of reasonable chastisement in relation to corporal punishment.
The legislation operates in tandem with the existing Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children, which outlines the non-statutory obligations which will continue to operate administratively for all sectors of society.