Parents should not be allowed to slap their children under any circumstances, the Children's Rights Alliance (CRA) has said.

It is calling on the Government to ban violence against children within the home and alternative care settings.

Currently in Irish law, parents, legal guardians, foster parents and childminders are allowed to physically punish children. The CRA believes this is unacceptable and that the Government should implement a complete ban on violence against children.

"All forms of violence against children are wrong. Physical punishment of children is invariably degrading and harmful. It is abuse and ill-treatment and it never does any good. Our law recognises that we cannot strike another adult, but why can we still strike children?" asked CRA chief executive, Tanya Ward.

With many children starting and returning to school in the last few days, Ms Ward noted that young people are protected against physical punishment in school, ‘but do not have the same protection at home'.

"The State can no longer continue to ignore international and domestic calls for this harmful practice to come to an end," she said.

A formal complaint about Ireland's position in relation to this issue was recently made by the Association for the Protection of All Children (APPROACH). The Government has four weeks to respond to the European Committee of Social Rights about this complaint.

According to the CRA, this is ‘the latest in a long line of international complaints against Ireland and follows recommendations by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the 5th Report of the Rapporteur on Child Protection that corporal punishment be banned in Ireland'.

"Ireland has a responsibility to protect our most vulnerable in whatever context harm may arise - be that in the family home, in foster care or with a childminder," Ms Ward added.