Nora Owen
Ceist:21 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when the terms of the Lomé IV Convention will be adopted in Ireland.
Written Answers. - Lomé Convention.
It is the intention of the Government to ratify the Lomé IV Convention when its terms have been approved by Dáil Éireann.
Prior to seeking Dáil approval of the terms of the convention it has been necessary to await two developments. First, the European Parliament had to give its assent to the convention; this it did on 17 May. Secondly, the member states have to negotiate the terms of the Community's Internal Financing Agreement which,inter alia, will set out formally the level of each member state's financial contribution. It is hoped that this will be done in the near future. When the financing agreement has been negotiated, it will be submitted to the Dáil for approval along with the convention itself.