Donal Carey
Question:1 Mr. Carey asked the Taoiseach if he will appoint a Minister of State to his Department with responsibility to prepare exclusively for a 32-County Irish State; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Minister of State Appointment.
I have no such plans.
I put down this question to the Taoiseach because I was particularly impressed by the way in which the West German Government were able to accommodate the assimilation of East Germany. I understand that Chancellor Kohl appointed a Minister of State who was responsible for the social and economic development of ties between East and West Germany. Surely the Taoiseach would find that very useful in view of the partitionist mentality in this State?
I now see the Deputy's point as I wondered what it was when I read the question. I do not think it would be effective at this stage. When, hopefully, that day comes all Ministers, and Ministers of State, will be involved in preparations and so on.
The success of the German idea of having one Minister responsible for co-ordination must surely be a factor which the Taoiseach could recommend for the future. We have seen how the West German people in an election seem to clearly accept that the East German State can be absorbed. Surely we should be able to do the same here?
I take the Deputy's point.
Nora Owen
Question:2 Mrs. Owen asked the Taoiseach whether Ireland has signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as indicated by him at the recent World Summit for Children.
Nora Owen
Question:3 Mrs. Owen asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the United Nations World Summit for Children.
Proinsias De Rossa
Question:4 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his recent visit to New York to sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; if the Government are planning any new initiative in this area arising from his signature of the convention; and when it is intended to ratify the convention.
Proinsias De Rossa
Question:5 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach if he will outline the matters discussed at his meeting in New York with the President of the European Council, Mr. Andreotti; if the Italian proposal for a merger between the EC and the Western European Union was discussed; the position he adopted on this proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Alan M. Dukes
Question:6 Mr. Dukes asked the Taoiseach if he intends to report to Dáil Éireann on his participation in the recent UNICEF World Summit for Children; and if he will make a statement on the action he expects will flow from that Summit.
Dick Spring
Question:7 Mr. Spring asked the Taoiseach the cost of his attendance at the United Nations Conference on the Rights of Children; the number in his official party; the cost of their attendance; the other functions attended by the party while in New York; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Dick Spring
Question:8 Mr. Spring asked the Taoiseach the action which will be taken by the Government arising from his signature of the United Nations declaration on the Rights of Children; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 to 8 together.
Is it in order to take Question No. 5 with the others? Questions Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 refer to the United Nations Convention on the rights of the Child whereas Question No. 5 refers to Western European Union.
It is primarily a matter for the Taoiseach.
All the questions arise from my visit.
I attended the World Summit for Children in New York on 29-30 September. The purpose of the Summit was to mobilise political commitment at the highest level to improve the welfare of the world's children. Over 70 Heads of State or Government attended, making it the largest ever gathering of world leaders. Ireland contributed £100,000 for the Summit and related activities.
The Summit adopted a World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the nineties and a plan of action which elaborates on the principles contained in the declaration. Both documents focus on urgent objectives in coming years such as entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and universal coverage of immunisation programmes for preventable killer diseases. Given the particularly precarious situation of children in the Third World, the documents highlight the need for concrete action to improve basic health, education and other social services. The Government will take the provisions of the declaration and plan of action fully into account in determining their international and domestic policies.
This unique event was an outstanding success and will, I am confident, contribute in a significant way to the future well-being of the world's children.
During my attendance at the Summit I signed, on behalf of Ireland, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A detailed examination of the terms of this convention, to identify whether domestic legislative measures are necessary to enable us to proceed rapidly to ratify it, is now under way.
The other official business during my visit to New York included discussions with the Italian Prime Minister and current President of the European Council, Mr. Andreotti, and with former President Nyerere of Tanzania. My discussions with Mr. Andreotti covered matters of mutual interest in the European Community with particular reference to political union and economic and monetary union as well as developments on the international political situation. My discussions with Dr. Nyerere covered the main issues facing the developing countries at the present time.
I also met the recently elected President of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in the US, Mr. George Clough Jr., for an exchange of views on matters of concern to the Irish-American community.
The total cost of my visit was £10,700 approx. I was accompanied by seven people, including two Irish children nominated by the Irish National Committee of UNICEF who participated in the activities of the Summit. The inclusion of the children in the official party was in response to a proposal from the Summit organisers.
Deputy Owen rose.
I am calling the Deputies in the order in which their questions appear on the Order Paper. Deputy Owen, please.
I wish to thank the Taoiseach for his answer. Will he confirm to the House that what he has told us is misleading because all that Ireland has done is to sign the Book of Intent to ratify the convention on the Rights of Children? My information is that we are not yet in a position to sign the convention because we do not have the necessary domestic legislation. Will the Taoiseach also indicate to the House what he intends to do to allow Ireland to ratify the convention, with particular reference to one of the Articles which calls on the Government to provide for proper care and attention for children who have been removed from their homes for their own protection, such as children now in detention with no proper places? I am particularly concerned that the Taoiseach will not mislead us.
This is a very long question, Deputy Owen.
Will the Taoiseach say whether he signed the convention or the Book of Intent?
The position is that we signed the convention, as I said in my reply. I also said in my reply that a detailed examination of the terms of the convention is now under way to identify whether domestic legislative measures are necessary to enable us to proceed rapidly to ratify the convention. We have signed it and the next step is ratifying it. We are examining all our legislation to see if any more is necessary to enable us to ratify it.
In view of the main principles of the convention, which I understand are the survival, development, protection and participation of children in society and in view of the fact that the Taoiseach has already mentioned the appalling deaths of children in the Third World, do the Government propose to increase the ODA contribution from Ireland in pursuit of the objective of the convention? Does the Taoiseach intend to indicate how soon the examination of Irish law will be concluded and when he expects the convention to be ratified by Ireland?
In regard to the second point, I do not think it will take very long — we do not have any great problems in that regard — to ratify the convention but we are just going through all our legislation to make sure. What was the Deputy's first question?
It was about the level of Ireland's overseas development aid contribution which clearly has a major impact on chldren's survival in the Third World.
That question is under examination at the moment in connection with the Estimates.
Will the Taoiseach agree that it would have been more appropriate to have a detailed examination of our legislation before signing this intent to ratify the convention instead of after it? Will he give an indication of the areas where modifications or extensions to our legislation might be needed?
No. As I indicated in my reply I do not think there will necessarily be any but this is normal procedure. You sign a convention and then, if necessary, legislate to enable you to ratify it.
I should like to get clarification on two aspects in relation to the declaration. The first is where part of the ambition was to establish the right to read and write. Will the Taoiseach accept that massive resources will be required to achieve this? The second aspect is in relation to the target to have a universal immunisation programme for children. Will the Taoiseach give me some indication as to what extra resources will be provided by the Government to help UNICEF achieve both or either of these very important programmes?
I cannot give the Deputy the figure at the moment but I can inform him, as I have already informed Deputy De Rossa, that the question of the contribution to UNICEF in 1991 is under active examination at the moment in connection with the Estimates. What was the other point?
Immunisation.
The whole convention basically is very largely about immunisation and we will certainly make whatever contribution we can.
Will the Taoiseach confirm that Ireland will not be in a position to ratify this convention until such time as we have provided proper domiciliary care and so on for juveniles who are presently before our courts and for homeless children? Will the Taoiseach further clarify what proposals he has to ratify another element of the convention which calls for care for children and allows parents, both mother and father, to go to work? One of the clauses calls for proper care for children. Does the Taoiseach propose to introduce a scheme of creches or child-minding services?
The Deputy should understand that ratification is a matter for legislation. If ratification involved providing all the things that are called for in the convention, and a plan of action, where necessary, for ratification, very few countries would be able to ratify it. What ratification is concerned with is agreeing to provide what is necessary in legislation.
Before one ratifies?
Yes, to enable one to ratify. One comes in here with ratification legislation.
Does the Taoiseach propose to do all those things?
As I said, preliminary examination indicates that we do not have to make any further changes in our legislation. That is subject to passing the Child Care Bill, which we hope to do this session. It is at Report Stage, as the Deputy knows.
I take it the Taoiseach will accept that in signing the convention we are signing not just a formal commitment, but that we expect to comply with it in spirit as well as in the letter——
Yes.
——and that it is not just a matter of legislation, but that we hope to improve the condition of children in Ireland and elsewhere. In Question No. 5, I asked if there was any discussion between him and Mr. Andreotti concerning the amalgamation of the WEU and the EC, if that was discussed what conclusions did the Taoiseach arrive at and if the Taoiseach will clarify the Government's position after the statement made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs which I understand is purported to indicate that the Government are prepared to consider involvement in such discussions?
I do not recall offhand, if WEU specifically arose in the course of our conversation. Tomorrow I will give a full account of that whole area — security policy, foreign policy and so on — in the context of my report on the last troll and in regard to giving an up date to the Dáil, on political union.
I am not attempting to score points on the Taoiseach but there is a possibility that we will not have a Dáil tomorrow. For that reason the Taoiseach might let us into his thoughts on the matter today.
The Deputy has a way of ensuring that I make a speech tomorrow.
That is a matter for the Taoiseach or Deputy O'Malley. Will the Taoiseach reply?
I propose to deal with it in detail tomorrow, because it is a complex matter. The subject of adhering to WEU or not, did not arise in my conversation with Signor Andreotti.
In relation to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, will the Taoiseach let us know how many European countries are in a position to ratify the convention so far?
I am sure I have that but, unfortunately, I cannot locate it immediately for the Deputy. A lot of European countries have not signed it. The ratification is more another part of the work.
I welcome the signature on the Convention. Will the Taoiseach agree that it would be a very good idea to have a rights of the child charter displayed in schools? Will the Taoiseach circulate at some stage a position paper on such measures as have to be taken that will enable us to go on to ratification? Has the target date for achievement of universal immunisation been changed or has it been changed as a result of the meeting which the Taoiseach attended?
No. I am now in a position to help Deputy Barnes. More than 100 countries have signed and more than 30 Governments have, in addition, deposited instruments of ratification. They are: Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, the Holy See, Honduras, Kenya, Mauritius, Mongolia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Peru, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Sweden, Togo, Uganda, the USSR and Vietnam.
Are there a lot of children in the Holy See?
What about the question of the display of the charter in schools?
That is a good idea. It is another way of bringing it to the attention of pupils, perhaps.
Question No. 9.