Yesterday's criminal conviction of a Co Limerick primary school principal, Laurence Begley, for assaulting a 12-year-old pupil may have come as a shock to many teachers.
But the change in the law which brought about this first case of its kind was well-signalled. The October 1997 issue of the INTO primary teachers' magazine In Touch explained that the 1996 Offences Against the Person (Non Fatal) Act had brought corporal punishment in schools, banned by the Department of Education since 1982, "under the ambit of the law and defines it as an illegal act".
It went on: "All primary teachers know that corporal punishment has been abolished in our schools for more than 15 years now. Does this new regulation mean that something else has changed? In fact there is a significant difference. Until now, teachers found to have used corporal punishment were in breach of departmental rules and whereas they could be severely reprimanded, punished or even dismissed, they were not guilty of a criminal act . . . The new regulation, however, is a statutory instrument and has the force of law."
In fact, the regulation could not have been clearer: "The law under which teachers are immune from criminal liability in respect of physical chastisement of pupils is hereby abolished."
Ms Fionnuala Kilfeather of the National Parents' Council (Primary) put yesterday's decision in the context of Ireland's ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which gives Irish children international legal protection of their "right to bodily integrity". "We are pleased to see the 1996 Act being used to send out a strong signal from the State about how we expect our children to be treated," she said.
Mr Begley appears to have been an unfortunate teacher who lost his head under pressure and struck a child, thus becoming the first teacher to be convicted under the new legislation. His guilty plea and good character as a pillar of the local community clearly impressed the district court justice in the case. As the INTO leader, Senator Joe O'Toole, said: "The court took the view that this was an act out of character, somebody who acted under pressure but who apologised and recognised what he had done was wrong."
Mr O'Toole said he hoped the incident would allow a debate to begin about discipline in schools. Many teachers were "very frustrated" at schools' lack of legal powers in this area. He said it was time to recognise that there should be a code of discipline to deal with children with behavioural difficulties which should not leave a class teacher isolated but should involve the whole school: other teachers, the principal, the Board of Management and the parents.