Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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578. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the reported decision of Poland to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence Against Women; and if he will raise the matter with his Polish counterpart. [20382/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of reports that the Deputy has mentioned. It is my understanding that Poland’s Minister of Justice has filed a formal request to the Polish Family Ministry to launch the procedure to facilitate Poland’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. Should this become the official policy of the Polish Government, we would be concerned.

Ireland has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention. The Convention is a significant international legal instrument which requires criminalising or legally sanctioning different forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual harassment and psychological violence.

Domestic and sexual violence can have devastating consequences for victims as well as society as a whole. When we ratified the Convention, it sent an important message that Ireland does not tolerate such violence.

To date, all EU Member States have signed the treaty, and 21 EU Member States, including Poland, have ratified it. Poland is an EU Member State with which we share many values and interests, and its withdrawal from the Convention would be regrettable.

Once we have a clearer understanding of the Polish Government’s position on this, we will seek to discuss the issue with Polish counterparts in the appropriate fora at Ministerial and official level.