Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has promised to rebalance the law to allow householders to repel intruders, but he emphasised this would not amount to a "007 licence to kill".
Mr McDowell was responding to a Law Reform Commission report which found that laws governing the use of self-defence against intruders in the home need to be tightened up.
The Minister said the law in the Republic had always allowed a householder to use reasonable force to protect his home and family from intruders but this had been changed by the rainbow government in the mid-1990s.
"The law in Ireland was fairly satisfactory until the rainbow [ coalition] changed it and said that one of the preconditions for asserting the right of self defence was that you had to avail of any opportunity to retreat.
"This cast a big doubt on the rights of householders to defend themselves, their families and their property from unlawful attack," he said.
The Tánaiste said he intended to amend the Criminal Law Provisions Bill to deal with the issue along the lines of a private members' Bill that had been raised in the Seanad by PD Senator Tom Morrissey, as a balance had to be struck in favour of the homeowner.
"I've every confidence that when the law is rebalanced that juries will do the right thing by homeowners. But it is not a licence to kill and I don't think anybody should portray it as that.
"All of us have the right to use any reasonable force necessary to protect our own lives but none of us are given some kind of 007 licence to kill by the law. Everybody must act reasonably because everybody owes a duty to uphold the law," he said.
Mr McDowell's comments were made at the launch of a Progressive Democrats' billboard campaign promoting the party's achievements in Government. The theme is: "Car insurance down 45 per cent in the past three years: The PDs get things done".
"Tumbling insurance premiums for cars, homes and businesses didn't 'just happen'. They are thanks to Progressive Democrats ministers' commitment to competition on behalf of consumers," said Mr McDowell.
"The Irish Insurance Federation's research has confirmed an average fall in motor car premiums between 2003 and 2006 of 45 per cent."
He also said his PD colleague Mary Harney had set up the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).
He said last month the PIAB had confirmed it was continuing to process claims three times faster and four times cheaper than the old litigation-based process while still providing similar value awards.
"We confronted the 'compo culture' and reduced the financial pressure on motorists, home-owners and employers," he said.
