Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I want to clarify something about forthcoming legislation. I asked the Taoiseach more than once whether it was the Government's intention to implement the promise in the White Paper on foreign policy to ratify the United Nations convention against all corruption. My best recollection is that the Taoiseach said the two Bills for which the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is the lead Department would be ready and therefore Ireland would be in a position to ratify the convention. On the pink list of legislation, No. 15 refers to the prevention of corruption amendment Bill, which enables the Government to sign up to the guidelines of the OECD on corruption but does not enable the convention to be ratified. I ask the question I asked in the previous session. Is it the Government's intention to ratify the United Nations convention against all corruption as promised in the Government White Paper on foreign policy and, if so, when?

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