Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This has been a long time coming. It was announced in October 2013 and I have tabled several questions on it in the meantime. The answer is always that the process is under way. The working outline was produced in 2015 and last year it was said it would appear in the first quarter of 2017. I hope it happens as the Minister of State says it will.

We know it is important because it will implement the UN guiding principles on business and human rights. We have seen many examples of violations of human rights in order to facilitate multinational companies, violations on the part of some governments with the displacement of people and land grabs. The Rana Plaza disaster was caused by the desire for greater profits, faster turnaround times and cutting corners. It is vital to have this report. Many submissions were made by organisations in Ireland with a lot of recommendations but that was a few years ago. The political landscape has changed, legislation has been introduced, and there is the problem of Brexit. Maybe there is a way in which those recommendations could be updated, not that anybody wants another consultation process but because it has been so long in coming there is a need to facilitate the voices of those who made submissions which may need to be reconsidered to ensure they are relevant today.

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