Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade
Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights at the United Nations: Discussion
2:00 am
Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
I thank the witnesses for their contributions and for the work they do. I refer to the very brave advocacy they do on behalf of their people in their community. Dr. O’Connell spoke about companies that go in and essentially do as they please because there is no due diligence. I do not know if he can name such a company. Is it possible to give an example of a company and what it did at the start, what laws it broke and how it did their business without any regard for the community, the environment or the region it went into? Can he talk about how that happened, give an example of the things it did that were wrong and give an example of its response to defenders who spoke out against them?
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