Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their responses. Along with colleagues, I welcome the excellent presentations on this important area of business and human rights. We applaud Mr. Curran and Mr. O'Donovan, their colleagues in Trócaire and the Human Rights Defenders and, indeed, other NGOs, who do excellent work in this important area.

It is also heartening to have Mary Lawlor, with her background, working in the centre for social innovation in TCD business school, as Senator Bacik mentioned. The TCD research gave us a clear message that these issues need to be addressed nationally as well as internationally.

I believe that most people are not aware that human rights work is at its most dangerous when defending land rights, indigenous people's rights and environmental rights. Irresponsible business practices cannot be tolerated. Business activities should not adversely affect human rights. Indeed, most people would expect, particularly in the least developed countries, an enhancement of rights for persons through economic development with the resulting better and much needed public services as well. That is a view held by most people.

I refer to one excerpt from Ms Curran's presentation. She stated:

Those who question and resist the destruction of their lands and communities are facing brutal consequences, including killings, attacks, criminalisation and repression. The UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights has referred to the data on disappearances, killings and assassinations as a horror story. Since 2015, more than 2,000 attacks on activists working on human rights issues related to business have been documented by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre.

In reference to the request made by witnesses to us to make particular recommendations to the Tánaiste and his Department, with the agreement of this committee, and following this meeting, we will write about the very important issues that all of the witnesses have put before our meeting this morning. Ms Curran, in her presentation, asked us to recommend to the Tánaiste that stronger regulation is needed nationally and internationally to provide a legal framework to ensure business corporations do not violate human rights in their operations. She recommended Ireland to adopt mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation; Ireland to support EU mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation; and Ireland to support and contribute to the development of a UN binding treaty on business and human rights. Those recommendations meet with the approval of our committee.

I will write to An Tánaiste outlining the issues that were very well amplified by all of our guests and I will call on him to advance the requests they put forward and that meet with the agreement of this committee.