Good afternoon to the Minister and colleagues. I raise a local issue with the Minister today. While it is primarily local, it has international significance. I had a pint in the South Pole Inn in Annascaul, County Kerry, a while back. It was Tom Crean's old pub. Last week, I got to visit the Shackleton Museum in Athy. I am not sure if the Minister has been there but I thoroughly recommend a visit. Many people do not appreciate the links that Kerry and Kildare have with the south Atlantic and with the Antarctic, in particular. It is on that basis that I raise the issue of the Antarctic Treaty with the Minister and specifically the fact that Ireland has yet to ratify it. It is an excellent treaty. Like all good treaties, it is very short. It is only seven pages long. It is written in plain English with no legalese. It is fully available on the Internet with just a single click. The essence of the treaty is noble. It wants to maintain the Antarctic for peaceful purposes only, to make sure that it remains a demilitarised zone, that there is no nuclear testing, that there is no disposal of nuclear waste, and that any research from scientific stations there is shared with other signatories to the treaty. It is unusual that Ireland is not involved in this. The treaty was established in 1959. It initially had 12 signatories and now has 53. Those 53 countries represent 80% of the planet's population.

Despite the great links that Ireland has with the Antarctic, there is no intent to sign up to this treaty that I am aware of. There has been a campaign for the last 20 years. I give credit to Senator Mark Wall, as well as to Senator Vincent Martin from the Minister's party, who have raised this in the past. There have been positive soundings and there has been no official resistance to it, but as yet there has been absolutely no delivery. Perhaps it is appropriate that Shackleton's ship was called the Endurance, because this campaign has displayed remarkable endurance in persevering and trying to wrestle with the bureaucracy to get this project over the line.

Has there been any process in advancing Ireland's ratification process of the Antarctic Treaty? Will the Minister kindly update the House? Is there any indication that the ratification process will be completed by the end of the year, as previously committed to?

The Deputy is right that there has been a long tradition in this country, because we are a small island nation, that we look out. Looking out on the world, why not look all the way, like Shackleton and others who engaged in that exploration and period of discovery and caught people's imagination? Today, the Antarctic is the subject of razor focus again because it is one location where the future of humanity on this planet will be decided. If the Antarctic ice sheets disappeared, the level of flooding would be beyond on compare. Dublin would be gone. Annascaul might survive because it must be 50 m or 60 m up, but Tralee, Inch and Dingle would be under water. It is in all our interests to understand what is happening in the farthest reaches of the world. I commend the Deputy on the question, because sometimes we need to think big and look beyond just the immediate issues to think of the real challenges facing us.

The Deputy mentioned some politicians who addressed this. When we were last in government, my colleague, Mary White, pushed for us to be a signatory of the Antarctic Treaty. The Department of Foreign Affairs and other Departments were commissioned to look at what was required. The answer was that there was a complex legislative issue. We left Government as time passed and no more progress was made. In this Government, last year, the Taoiseach wrote to the Minister for Foreign Affairs to ask the Department to lead work to re-examine the merits of signing the Antarctic Treaty. The Department of Foreign Affairs undertook to carry out an assessment to establish an up-to-date picture of what would be required in administrative policy and legislation. Its report was provided two months ago, in April. It outlines the complex legislative requirements. The Attorney General advised that what would seem a simple stroke of a pen has implications for the law that would apply to our citizens.

The great thing about the Antarctic Treaty is that it creates a safe neutral space, at a time when the world is a war. It is a space where it is agreed that the ordinary rules of international agreement are different. It is a place for sharing scientific knowledge, for prohibiting nuclear testing, for real environmental conservation, with rules relating to fishing, waste disposal, territorial claims and military activity. All of those require underpinning to make sure that we adhere to them. They are real commitments with real consequences. That report from the Department of Foreign Affairs was completed recently and is now being shared with other Departments with a view to bringing it to fruition. It will not be easy. It is a legislative and bureaucratic challenge, but we should overcome it. Particularly with the wider world today, Ireland thinking globally would be good.

I thank the Minister for his response. The treaty is only seven pages long but I accept that there are some bureaucratic hurdles. I am slightly reassured that there has been some progress. This year is important because it is the centenary of Ernest Shackleton's passing. The climate crisis and the war in Ukraine are still raging. I appreciate and welcome the fact that public funds are being pumped into the Shackleton Museum in Athy at the moment. There can be no better, more fitting or appropriate way of honouring Shackleton's memory than signing off and ratifying this treaty before the year's end. In summary, Ireland and the Irish have been actively involved in the discovery and exploration of the Antarctic. We should remain committed and be actively involved in its conservation and preservation.

I met one of Shackleton's relatives recently. She is an organic farmer who is doing advanced, interesting science, research and farming, using new, innovative techniques to reduce emissions and create high quality food. That spirit and capability lives on in this country. We need the Department of Foreign Affairs to work with the other Departments, which it has committed to, to untangle a short treaty which requires complex legislative changes.

The Taoiseach has been in communication with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and all three parties in government are engaged in this. I very much take the Deputy's question here as an opportunity to press the issue and push for the signing of the treaty. When that happens, we might invite all the Shackletons and all others to come to witness it as recognition of that historic tradition we have.