asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if, in relation to the election of the Committee pursuant to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, he will ensure that at least one of the three nominees which Ireland is entitled to propose will be a person expert in law and not necessarily a civil servant, but a representative of those organisations such as the Irish Council of Civil Liberties or the Irish branch of Amnesty International which have taken particular interest in this Convention; if he will consult with those organisations as a matter of urgency in order to obtain a suitable candidate for nomination; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - European Convention Committee Representatives.
36.
The Convention provides that the members of the Committee shall be elected by the Committee of Ministers from a list of names drawn up by the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the basis of candidates put forward by national delegations in the Parliamentary Assembly. In the first instance, therefore, the selection of candidates to be put forward by Ireland is a matter for the Irish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly to which the Deputy is free to convey his views.