I again welcome the Minister of State.
Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunications Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations: Motion.
I bring to the committee a motion seeking Dáil approval to approve the terms of the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunications Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations. I will cover three main areas: the background to the Tampere Convention, the main implications of the convention and the ratification process.
The convention was adopted at Tampere, Finland, on 18 June 1998 by an Intergovernmental Conference on emergency telecommunications. It establishes an international framework to facilitate the provision and use of telecommunications resources and to foster co-operation for disaster mitigation and relief. The convention builds on existing resolutions of the United Nations and the International Telecommunications Union. It allows countries that experience disasters to request telecoms assistance from other countries.
Operational co-ordination is to be carried out through the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This office will act as the UN emergency relief co-ordinator. Its role will be limited to co-ordination activities of an international nature. Our accession to the convention will further demonstrate the Government's continued commitment to advance the cause of developing countries and the Irish organisations which do such great work to assist them.
The convention sets out clear a clear framework for countries giving and receiving telecoms assistance in disaster situations. It provides protection to those providing such assistance and will be of benefit to Irish organisations where assistance is provided. The convention also provides for the removal of regulatory barriers to allow those providing telecoms assistance to access the disaster area and to set up and operate equipment.
Under the convention, countries are required to notify the UN what telecoms resources could be provided should a request for assistance be received. ComReg has agreed to identify these resources. The Government has decided, subject to our accession to the convention, to designate my Department as the authority responsible to request, offer or terminate telecoms assistance in the unlikely event that Ireland should suffer a disaster and require assistance.
The convention allows countries the opportunity to charge for assistance given and requires countries to pay for any assistance they have requested and received. It is envisaged that in certain circumstances a country providing assistance may waive the cost having considered the capacity of the requesting country to respond to a disaster.
No specific money allocation has been set aside by my Department to fund requests for telecommunications assistance under the convention. If asked to waive the cost to a country, the Minister will consider the issue and consult his colleagues in Government on whether funds can be made available. There will be minor administrative costs for my Department in following the notification procedures set out in the convention. These costs will be met from the existing Vote of my Department.
Under the convention, countries are required when requesting telecoms assistance to grant certain privileges, immunities and exemptions to certain persons and organisations providing assistance. We will seek Government authority to draft the necessary order following the enactment of the Diplomatic Relations and Immunities (Amendment) Bill 2005, which is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern.
I now move on to the ratification process. The convention came into force on 8 January 2005, 30 days after its ratification by the necessary 30 states. As of 17 November 2005, 32 countries have ratified the convention. Initial concerns about EU jurisdiction have delayed Ireland's ratification of the convention. The proposed motion before the committee includes a reservation to ensure that the operation of the convention does not transgress on areas that are within EU jurisdiction. The wording of the reservation is based on that provided by the EU Council working group on telecommunications on 16 December 2002. As of 17 November 2005, ten EU countries have ratified this convention. Of these ten, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark have included a similar reservation. This is a straightforward international convention and I commend it to the committee.
Perhaps the Minister of State could provide us with a full copy of the convention before it goes to the Dáil.
Yes.
The clerk has circulated a draft report. Is it agreed to include the commencement time as 4.11 p.m. and the conclusion time as 4.15 p.m.? Agreed. Is it agreed to record that Deputies Perry, Eamon Ryan, Broughan and I, as Chairman, were present? Agreed. Is the report agreed? Agreed.