Vol. 438 No. 5
115 Mrs. Doyle asked the Minister for Finance his response to date to article 6a of the convention on Biological Diversity which he signed at UNCED in Rio eighteen months ago; and the action, if any, he has taken to develop a national strategy, plan or programme for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
Ratification of the Convention by Ireland requires Dáil approval and it is hoped to put a motion to that effect to the Dáil later in the year.
The Convention was ratified by the European Union in December 1993 and will be given effect throughout the Community by the Habitats and Biotechnology Directives. National strategies plans or programmes for conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity will be developed along those lines which the European Union will be proposing as Ireland, like any member state, would be obliged to comply and implement the terms of these directives.
While a formal national plan for implementation of this Convention has not yet been prepared the continuing programme for the protection of all species is the practical implementation of the main element of the Convention and will form the core of the plan in due course.
