Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has allowed me to come in on this. I reiterate our desire to get the optional protocol signed before the end of the Government's term. We recognise there are challenges. There is existing domestic legislation that is incompatible with the protocol and must be changed, just as we got the legislation on assisted decision-making changed. We have scoped out the matter and we have a report showing where the issues are. I hope to bring that report to the Cabinet very soon. We will then set up an interdepartmental group to bring in the input of other Departments. A key element is that a lot of the changes will have to be made in other Departments, including the Departments of Health and Social Protection. It is about bringing those parts together to see how we can implement the commitment we gave. Often, a commitment is made by the Government but everyone is saying it is a matter for this or that Department. We are bringing everybody together to map how we get there. This is an important step forward and a way to achieve the goal of ratifying the convention within the life span of the Government.

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