Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

485. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he plans to ratify the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; and if so, if he will supply a timeline for same. [47873/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I remain strongly committed to the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

My Department made a comprehensive submission to the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 seeking confirmation as to whether Ireland was in a position to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The advice received from the AGO stated that while Ireland is largely compliant with the terms of the Protocol, there are some outstanding issues that need to be resolved before the State can proceed to ratification. My Department has been liaising closely with the Department of Justice as the outstanding issues identified by the AGO fall within their remit.

The main outstanding issues relate to determining what if any legislative measures may need to be put in place to ensure that the full range of offences covered by the Protocol can be prosecuted on an organised and transnational basis in line with Article 3.1 of the Protocol.

There is close engagement between the Department of Justice and my Department while we await their determination on the legislative requirements. Once the Department of Justice has concluded this process, the next step will involve the development of measures that might be necessary to enable ratification. At that point I should be in a position to provide an approximate timeline for ratification.