Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The major announcement today is that the Cabinet - I have just come from that Cabinet meeting - formally adopted and supported my proposal to ratify the UN Convention.

The other issues that are in place are as follows. As I stated previously, the €3 million for the Decision Support Service has been allocated. The legislation will be published tomorrow and we will move on from there. The key point here is we will move on this as quickly as possible and we will be bringing another memorandum to Cabinet before the Christmas break.

The direct answer to the Deputy's question is I see us formally ratifying the UN Convention in early January, and sooner if possible. However, it also has to do with logistics. We have got to bring a memorandum to Cabinet. We have to bring a formal motion before the Dáil.

See this speech in context