Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 October 2014
92. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his views on the propriety of signing and ratifying the 3rd Optional Protocol of the UNCRC without the approval of Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37254/14]
View answerArticle 29.5.1o of the Constitution provides that every international agreement to which the State becomes a party shall be laid before Dáil Éireann. Article 29.5.2o provides that the State shall not be bound by any international agreement involving a charge upon public funds, unless the terms of the agreement shall have been approved by Dáil Éireann. As the terms of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child do not involve a charge upon public funds, the applicable Constitutional requirement is that of Article 29.5.1o to the effect that the agreement shall be laid before Dáil Éireann.
