Mr. Seán Kirwan:

I might respond to the question on the 1992 Valetta convention, which is a very important international convention on archaeological heritage in Europe. As the Deputy said, we ratified it in 1997 on the basis that the existing National Monuments Acts and the existing planning Acts were sufficient to give effect to the provisions of the convention and that additional legislation was not needed. Regarding Part 3 of the general scheme and the reference to the world heritage convention, over the years it has been identified that while much of our planning law and natural monuments law allows us to give effect to that convention, there is no specific definition in Irish law of a world heritage property.

We would not see a particular gap on the Valetta convention. Everything that we have currently and everything that we would be hoping to see enacted in the monuments and archaeological heritage Bill would go towards meeting Ireland's obligations under the convention. In the drafting it might be possible to make a specific reference to the Valetta convention in the long Title. That would acknowledge formally in the legislation that it is there to allow Ireland to give effect to its obligations under the convention.