As a signatory to Protocol 12, Ireland keeps the question of ratifying the Protocol under review. The major issue is the lack of clarity as to the precise extent of the obligations imposed on State parties by the very broad general prohibition on discrimination in Article 1 of the Protocol. My Department will continue to watch closely how the European Court of Human Rights interprets the scope of this Article when it comes to rule on individual cases. In the meantime, I have no plans to ratify the Protocol at this time.