Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Is there a timescale for ratification of many of these agreements? The Government has accepted, in principle, the terms of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, the Istanbul Convention.

The Government said it accepted in principle the terms of the convention but it is almost a year since then and there has been no indication of any movement on that. Other countries, however, are moving ahead and while the Minister might say that is due to their system, there is also the optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Uruguay has become the tenth country to ratify that within three months. Last year, the Minister for Justice and Equality said we were determined to achieve full respect for human rights, but a year later there has been no movement on either of them. People would wonder what the delay is in ratifying something to which we have signed up. Is it due to cost?

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