Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)

I thank the witnesses for their contributions, expertise, time and engagement on this. I envy them their knowledge of this area and their depth of understanding of what is happening. I have some commentary more generally on the approach and what the Minister and the Department are saying. However, my time would probably better used asking questions. I will ask all the questions and the witnesses can then respond.

One of the topics of discussion last week was on the role of financial institutions and the exclusion in that regard. Is there any sustainability reporting at all required of financial institutions in any of these proposals? If not, do the Minister or the Department have a view on that? Mr. Forde stated that 60% of EU companies see regulation as an obstacle to investment. I am curious to what the definition of "regulation" is for those companies or what the source of the information is. How are we categorising those EU companies? Are they operating in Ireland or elsewhere? I am conscious that regulation can be expanded in a wide variety of ways.

Is there a policy from the Department or the Minister regarding how climate regulation should be watered down? There is a legitimate question on harmonisation and simplification of regulation for businesses. That is a fair matter to explore. However, there is a tension in the context of the climate context and climate transition. How do we manage that tension? What is the Department's thinking on the matter?

The other issue that came up at our previous meeting was the enforcement mechanisms within this legislation. My understanding is that it is mostly in the civil area. Notably, in Ireland, civil action on enforcement mechanisms for legislation is not something that is often pursued or successful. Is there a view from the Department on how that would be implemented in Ireland vis-à-vis other European jurisdictions?

Has the Department done any analysis on the creation of jobs in the context of this additional regulation? I am conscious that auditing and accounting firms that might be hiring people who specialise in this area. On a matter that arose in the witnesses' contributions, I am concerned that publicly listed companies in Ireland would not have to report on this. From an investor transparency perspective, if we are asking only companies with more than 1,000 employees to meet sustainability reporting requirements or human rights-based reporting requirements and not asking this of companies that operate in public markets or that are listed on stock exchanges, there is a strange dissonance. I wish to understand that more. Are there any plans to do that from a public markets perspective. I again thank the witnesses for their time.