John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)

I apologise for missing a good bit of the meeting. The balancing act that we have is to ensure that we maintain an environment where enterprise is competitive and appealing and we remain a good place to invest and work. In that regard, we are leading the way with the many initiatives that we have introduced on employee benefits and welfare. In recent times, we have made a lot of good progress in that space.

I fully respect the witnesses' contributions relating to the international requirement to ensure that the full supply chain behaves responsibly and is implemented and adapted to ensure that Europe, first and foremost, and Ireland maintain our reputation globally for our standards. Over time, how the markets react and invest will become an aspect of this. The more we talk about the likes of CSRD and CSDDD, the more apparent the importance of a responsible approach to business while ensuring the best interests of worker welfare will become to the investment markets.

I appreciate the work that the witnesses do. I thank them for attending to make their contributions.