Ms Siobhan Curran:

Yes. The only mandate of the group is to discuss issues which are in the national plan. The treaty is not seen as part of that. It would be positive if we could get a clear indication of how the baseline study will be implemented into the work of the group. That is not clear to us as a member.

On the statement by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade about Ireland becoming more engaged in the UN treaty process, that is welcome. It would be great to see the tangible steps that would take. Pushing within the EU is extremely important. We must also remember that we are also a member state in our own right and we have to develop our position on issues of domestic competency. It would also be useful for us to see Ireland’s position in the areas of EU competency and what Ireland will be pushing.