1. Please provide updated information on the steps being taken to consolidate the recent peace agreement between Ireland and the United Kingdom to settle peacefully the political future of Northern Ireland, in the light of the continued violence and counterviolence between the Catholic and Protestant communities in Northern Ireland.
2. To what extent does the peace agreement enjoy grassroot support among the affected communities? What is being done to deepen the support for the peace agreement?
3. What effect, if any, does the continued violence in Northern Ireland have on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights in Ireland? If there are any problems in this respect, what is being done to overcome them?
4. To what extent has the process of identifying those areas in which Irish law and practice do not conform with the Covenant, and in which legislation would be necessary, been completed? To what extent has any conflict between the Covenant and Irish legislation been reconciled?
5. Does Ireland contemplate withdrawing its reservations to article 2, paragraph 2 and to article 13, paragraph 2 (a) of the Covenant?
6. Please indicate whether the Government will give positive consideration, in the framework of the ongoing parliamentary constitutional review, to inserting in the new Constitution the rights protected under the Covenant.
7. What is the Government of Ireland's position in regard to possible threats to the rights protected under the Covenant, in the State party's jurisdiction, which would be posed by the adoption of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment?
Article 2.2. Non-discrimination
8. Please indicate if Ireland contemplates ratifying the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
9. Please explain what the practical consequences of article 40.1 of the Constitution are (see paragraph 12 of the report) and how such a provision can be reconciled with article 2, paragraph 2 of the Covenant.
10. By what date will the Government of Ireland implement the 1996 Refugee Act? To what extent is the Act (and regulations adopted to implement it) supposed to strengthen the enjoyment by refugees of their rights under the Covenant?
11. In view of the rapid increase in the number of asylum seekers in recent years, please explain what effective measures are being taken to guarantee the enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights pending the consideration of their application, to accelerate the processing of the latter and to realize family reunification? What measures are being taken to guarantee to asylum seekers' children access to education and health care?
12. In view of the information contained in the report and received from reliable non-governmental sources about the de facto discrimination still faced by Travellers in the enjoyment of their economic and social rights, please indicate whether the Government considers that legislative and other measures adopted in the past few years, especially after the publication of the Task Force's report, have proved fruitful. Please elaborate.
Article 3. Equality between men and women
13. Please indicate to what extent discrimination against women persists in practice, especially with regard to their right to equal pay for work of equal value, employment security, access to elected offices and access to highlevel management positions in the public and private sectors. Please provide statistical data in that respect, covering the past five years.
14. Has the Equal Status Act (see paragraph 55 of the report) been adopted?
15. Please explain why women remain significantly under-represented in public life and the influence of cultural factors in this respect.
Article 6 to 15. The right to work
16. In the light of the information given in paragraph 98 of the report, please indicate whether it is contemplated to give the right to work explicit legislative or constitutional recognition.
Article 7. The right to just and favourable conditions of work
17. Please explain why Ireland does not have a general minimum wage legislation. What are the categories of workers that have statutory wage rates?
Article 8. Trade union rights
18. Please explain why civil servants, teachers and certain local authority and Health Board employees are excluded from access to the existing disputesettling agencies?
19. Why is the right to strike not recognized as a positive right by domestic law?
20. Please explain how the numerous conditions for a trade union to be granted a negotiation licence can be reconciled with article 8 of the Covenant.
Article 9. The right to social security
21. Is the State party committed to the principle that social security payments should be adequate to prevent poverty and to enable participation in the normal life of the community? Why have present social security benefits been increased over the past years at a rate considerably below the rise in average earnings? In view of the current impressive economic growth in Ireland, does the State party intend to review the adequacy of present rates?
Article 10. Protection of the family, mothers and children
22. Please explain Ireland's policy on enforced pregnancy?
23. What steps are being taken by the State party to address the problem of teenage suicides, drug and alcohol abuse and early pregnancies?
24. In view of the information received by the Committee from reliable nongovernmental sources about the inadequacy of certain aspects of the social treatment of juvenile delinquents, please indicate what steps are being taken to review the State party's policy in that respect.
25. What are the existing or envisaged measures, other than legislative, to tackle violence against women (including outside the family) and provide rehabilitation to the victims? Has the impact of such measures been assessed recently?
Article 11. Right to an adequate standard of living
26. What progress has been made towards the implementation of the national anti-poverty strategy introduced in May 1997? To what extent have budgetary provisions been made to implement adequately this strategy?
27. Does the State party consider that it complies with its obligation under article 11 of the Covenant by not giving the right to housing legislative recognition (see paragraph 497 of the report)?
28. Has the State party's policy to tackle homelessness been evaluated recently by governmental or non-governmental bodies?
29. Please indicate what the reasons are for the substantial discrepancy between government figures and figures provided by non-governmental sources concerning the number of homeless people.
30. What measures does the State party envisage taking to address the important rise in house prices in the past few years? Has any assessment been carried out of the social and familial cost of this trend?
31. Is the assistance to voluntary organizations which provide social housing adequate?
Article 12. The right to health
32. What measures are being taken to address the serious concerns expressed by various governmental and non-governmental instances concerning the rights and treatment of patients in some psychiatric institutions?
33. Please indicate what legislative or other measures are being envisaged to equip the country with a modern system of protection and care of mentally ill and mentally handicapped people.
34. Has the national alcohol policy been fruitful so far?
35. Ireland has adopted a national AIDS prevention campaign. How effective has it been in reducing the gravity of the problem?
36. Air quality in large cities, especially Dublin, is a cause of concern. What effective measures have been adopted to improve air quality? Is the shift from leaded to unleaded gasoline sufficient to reduce the level of air pollution?
Article 13. The right to education
37. As stated in paragraph 687 of the report, Ireland does not have a comprehensive legislative framework for education. Is this situation generally considered to be detrimental or conducive to the continuing improvement of the educational system?
38. Please provide statistical data on the number of parents who choose to educate their children outside the formal schooling system, in accordance with their right to do so enshrined in article 42 of the Constitution. Do education inspectors or other bodies supervise the standards of such nonformal education? Please provide more information on the success or failure of this policy.
39. Please explain why the number of pupils in primary education has declined since 1987 (see paragraph 704 of the report).
40. Please explain why the State does not monitor curricula offered in private schools.
41. Please explain the role of the State and its control in respect of denominational schools.
42. Please provide additional information on the provision of human rights education at school and in universities.