Vol. 486 No. 1
396 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the proposed international multilateral agreements under the auspices of his Department which are currently being negotiated or prepared; in each case the international organisation, if any, through whose machinery the agreement is being negotiated; whether it is proposed to ratify or accede to the agreement if adopted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1017/98]
397 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the international multilateral agreements under the auspices of his Department which have been signed but not ratified or acceded to by the State; the date and place it was opened for signature in each case; the international organisation, if any, through whose machinery the agreement was negotiated; whether it is proposed to ratify or accede to the agreement; if so, when and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1032/98]
398 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the international multilateral agreements under the auspices of his Department to which his attention has been drawn and which have not been signed by the State; the date and place it was opened for signature in each case; the international organisation, if any, through whose machinery the agreement was negotiated; whether it is proposed to sign the agreement; if so, when and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1047/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 396, 397 and 398 together.
The position is that two agreements which have been signed are awaiting ratification and the question of signing two others is at present under consideration. Details are as follows: The International Cocoa Agreement 1993 was opened for signature at New York on 16 August 1993, Ireland signed the agreement, subject to ratification, on 16 February 1994. The international organisation responsible for the agreement is the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. It is proposed that Ireland will ratify the agreement when all EU member states are also in a position to do so.
The International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants of 2 December 1961 as revised at Geneva on 10 November 1972 and 23 October 1978 was ratified by the Government in May 1981. The convention was again revised at Geneva in March 1991. That revised version was signed on behalf of Ireland, subject to ratification, on 27 February 1992. The international organisation responsible for the agreement is the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. The domestic legislation to facilitate ratification, the Plant Varieties (Proprietary Rights) (Amendment) Bill, is currently before the Dáil.
The European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals which was opened for signature in Strasbourg on 13 November 1987, was negotiated through the Council of Europe and has not yet been signed or ratified by Ireland. The convention has been under examination to determine its full implications and a decision on its signature and ratification will be made in due course.
