Ms Karen Hennessy:

From the discussion today, what we are looking at is very complex, even for companies to understand what their responsibility is. Across the sector, we need guidance on how, if a company does not fall in with the groups set out here, it can still impact a businesses as well as what assistance and training is available. SMEs need assistance with guidance on how we move forward with this directive and who it will impact. We are living in a world, as the Deputy just highlighted, that is changing at a pace. Over the next 35 years we must produce more food than we have grown in the last 10,000 years to feed the population. We need to look at regenerative and destructive innovations to make all that happen but with that there is the onus to make sure that not only do we not destroy the planet but that we are protecting humanity while we are doing it. I welcome the directive but as it stands it is not clear enough about who will be impacted. That is what the SMEs seek. It is about how we get clarity and then how we get assistance and supports. There are things such as Chapter Zero which was mentioned earlier with the coming together of Chartered Accountants Ireland, the Institute of Directors and IBEC.

The intention behind this approach is to make non-executive directors as aware as possible of the likes of this proposal, scope 3 emissions and what we need to be doing, including bringing representatives of committees on to boards focused on climate and corporate sustainability. All of this is beginning to move in the right direction, but this is an entirely different playing field we are looking at here.