asked the Minister for Justice if reciprocal arrangements have yet been made with the British authorities for the enforcement of maintenance orders in favour of deserted wives and children; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Deserted Wives.
114.
I would refer the Deputy to the statement I made in reply to a question on this matter on 2nd December, 1971.
The EEC Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgements—which, in terms, includes maintenance orders— has now been ratified by all the existing member states of the Community and is about to come into operation between them. I expect that substantive negotiations with the new member states as to the adjustments required in the Convention to enable them to ratify it will commence in the near future.
I cannot say how long these negotiations are likely to take, but I have no reason to believe that it will be any longer than the time that would be required to negotiate and implement a separate bilateral agreement with Britain confined to maintenance orders. However, I propose to keep the matter under constant review in the light of the progress of the negotiations on the EEC Convention.