The Minister for Justice has said he will amend the laws on the use of force by homeowners who defend themselves against trespassers with criminal intent.
Michael McDowell said the Criminal Law (Defence of Life and Property) Bill 2007 would no longer require a householder "using such force to show that they did not avail of the opportunity to retreat in the face of a criminal trespasser".
Announcing the Government's approval of a proposal for the priority drafting of a new Bill, Mr McDowell said: "It is my contention that an attack in the home has unique characteristics given the emotive nature of an encounter between the occupant and an unwelcome intruder.
"I believe the law should have regard to the unique circumstances which prevail in a situation where an intruder is being dealt with in one's own home, the place we all have a right to consider to be a place of safety."
Mr McDowell was accused yesterday by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) of granting householders "a licence to kill".
ICCL director Mark Kelly said: "The Bill contains a loose formula allowing force to be used if it is reasonable in the mind of the householder.
"In addition, in its present form, the Bill explicitly permits force to be used by householders against children under 12, sleepwalkers, drunks, mentally disabled persons and anyone else who stumbles into a home or garden."
He added: "Far from protecting householders, if this Bill were enacted, it would open up the possibility for anyone harmed by a householder to legally challenge the State's failure to respect their human rights under the European convention."
Fine Gael senator Brian Hayes claimed the Minister had made a policy U-turn on the issue, "less than a year after rubbishing Fine Gael proposals in this area".
Claiming that Mr McDowell was intent on adopting "all of the Fine Gael crime proposals", Mr Hayes wondered if the Minister had "secretly applied to rejoin the Fine Gael party".
Green Party justice spokesman Ciarán Cuffe accused the Minister of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
"This proposal could allow a property owner to knock out a 12-year-old child attempting to steal apples from an orchard," he said.
"I hope that the Irish Human Rights Commission will comment on the Bill, and I look forward to their views," Mr Cuffe added.
The Bill, which received Government approval on March 6th, draws on elements of a Private Members' Bill published by PD senator Tom Morrissey.
Welcoming the proposals, which are seen as having no realistic prospect of becoming law before the general election, Mr Morrissey said: "All rational people would agree that householders should be allowed to stand their ground and use justifiable force, if required, against an intruder."
