Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 May 1998

Vol. 491 No. 3

Written Answers. - Name of State.

Trevor Sargent

Question:

174 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason this country is listed under I for Ireland rather than E for Éire in view of the fact that the protocol for referring to the member states of the European Union is determined by countries being listed alphabetically in the national language of each country. [12275/98]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Andrews)

It is our longstanding practice to use the Englishlanguage version of the name of the State in international organisations. This practice was followed on entry to the European Communities in 1973 and Ireland is listed accordingly.