asked the Minister for External Affairs whether following a reply of 4th December 1962 he is now in a position to state if the Government will ratify, as proposed in the Council of Europe Resolution 233, the OECD Convention on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy, since by the conclusion of a supplementary agreement the obstacles for the ratification of the Convention have now been removed.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Ratification of OECD Convention.
6.
As the Deputy will be aware from my reply to his question of 4th December, 1962, to which he refers, and to the Deputy's further question of 16th July, 1963, on the same subject, the difficulties in connection with accession by this country to the OECD Convention on Third Party Liability in the field of nuclear energy arise from the possible conflict between some of the provisions of the Convention and our domestic legislation.
The supplementary Convention of 31st January, 1963, to which the Deputy refers, provides that additional compensation should be paid out of public funds to the victims of nuclear incidents. It does not, however, remove the obstacles to our ratifying the Convention.
An additional Protocol to the Convention, which was opened for signature on the 28th January, 1964, stipulates that Accession to the Convention will be accepted only if they are accompanied by ratification or confirmation of the additional Protocol.
The whole matter, including the possibility of legislation, is still under consideration by the Departments concerned.