asked the Minister for Justice the countries where the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is in force; the countries which have signed but not ratified the Convention; and whether he accepts the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission on giving the force of law to the Convention in Ireland.

63.

asked the Minister for Justice when he intends introducing legislation to deal with the problem of child kidnapping; and whether such legislation will enable this country to ratify the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction at the earliest opportunity.

I propose to take Priority Question No. 6 and Question No. 63 together.

A Bill to enable Ireland to ratify the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is at a very advanced stage of preparation in my Department and will be introduced as soon as possible. The proposed Bill takes into account the recommendations made by the Law Reform Commission in their report on the Convention. The Bill will also enable Ireland to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on the recognition and enforcement of decisions concerning custody of children and on restoration of custody of children.

As regards the information sought in the Priority Question about states which have signed or ratified the Hague Convention, the position is that 14 states are party to the Convention, namely, Australia, Austria, Belize, Canada, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA. Five states have signed but not yet ratified the Convention — these are Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands.

In the light of the Garamanli and other child kidnapping cases, would the Minister accept that it is extremely urgent to put the terms of that Convention into legislation? Will the Minister guarantee the House that this will be done with the minimum of delay?

I appreciate the urgency of the matter, and I want to stress that the legislation is now at an advanced stage.

Mr. Flanagan rose.

I cannot entertain the Deputy.

In spite of the fact that the Minister has replied to my question?

That may be so, Deputy, but the Standing Orders of this House ordain that supplementary questions may only be put at this time by the Deputies who tabled the question.

I will abide by your ruling, a Cheann Comhairle.

I wish I could help the Deputy in the matter.