asked the Minister for Education when his promised initiative on corporal punishment will take place and if he will outline the details of same.

24.

asked the Minister for Education if he will forbid the use of corporal punishment on children in the Republic in view of recent protests and the fact that the practice is now discontinued in all civilised countries.

With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 24 together.

I propose to have discussions with the relevant managerial and teaching organisations before the end of the present school year in relation to this matter. I do not desire to make a further statement on the matter at this stage.

Why does the Minister need to have further consultations with the organisations concerned in view of the fact that they have already given him lengthy statements of their views on the corporal punishment issue?

Because I do not underestimate my ability to move them a little bit from positions already stated.

Will the Minister accept that the number of associations which need to be moved is comparatively small? Will the Minister also accept that his decision to open a round of consultations after a lengthy preliminary series of consultations could only give people the impression that this is being put on the long finger?

I assure the Deputy that as far as I am concerned there is no question of long fingering and I am fully in agreement with the old Irish proverb is cuma ná muc duine gan beart.

Has the Minister taken any action in relation to the allegations made in the RTE programme "Frontline" in relation to corporal punishment?

That is a separate question.

I did not see the programme.

Will the Minister accept that it is his prerogative to make a decision in this matter and in view of the widespread opinion in favour of the abolition of corporal punishment it is time he made a decision rather than——

The Minister does accept.

The Minister is shirking his responsibilities.

Will the Minister agree that as experience might be the best teacher in this area an appropriate way of approaching this might be to ban corporal punishment for an experimental period of five years and see whether any of the organisations still in favour of it would like to return to it?

If the Deputy wishes to raise this with the Minister he should put down a separate question.

I thought the Minister might have a comment.

I have plenty of comments.

But no action.