Vol. 486 No. 6
138 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will provide grant aid for the Awareness Campaign on the UN Convention on the Rights of Children similar to that provided by the Department of Health and Children, in view of the commitments made by the Irish Government to the UN Committee on Children's Rights; if so, the amount that will be allocated; and when it will be paid. [3110/98]
The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for Overseas Development Assistance and Human Rights, Deputy O'Donnell, in her address to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva on 12 January 1998, stated that the Government was committed to part-financing the awareness campaign of the Children's Rights Alliance and that she would be recommending to colleagues in Government that funding in addition to that provided by the Department of Health and Children be made available.
The Departments of Education and Science and Justice, Equality and Law Reform, as the Departments sharing operational responsibility for the rights of children, have been approached by the Childrens Rights Alliance with a view to making a contribution to the campaign. The Department of Foreign Affairs has also been approached and this request is currently being examined to ascertain if it will be possible to provide any funding from the Department's budget.
