Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To try to answer the question the Deputy tabled, proposals for trade missions are developed by Enterprise Ireland in consultation with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation on the basis of priority markets and specific interests of Enterprise Ireland client companies. Proposals for 2018 are currently being finalised and, once approved, the schedule of planned trade missions and events for 2018 will be made public. The schedule for 2019 will be considered in the second half of this year. Several events have already taken place in 2018, including a Ministerial trade and investment mission to the USA in January.

Trade missions in 2018 and 2019 will seek to enable Enterprise Ireland client companies to expand their footprint and take advantage of global growth opportunities, particularly in the context of the international economic challenges facing Ireland, including the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

The Deputy will get the rest of the formal reply from the Official Report. In response to his question, of course Ireland has a responsibility to raise human rights concerns. There was a long conversation at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Libya in the last few days, of which I was part. The Deputy cannot expect Irish companies to be fully briefed on all human rights issues either. It is a responsibility of Government to ensure that our policies are consistent and that we work with the European Union to advocate for the advancement of human rights and to protect vulnerable communities. We do not always succeed in that. However, Ireland has been consistent in the EU and the UN in speaking out and backing up our statements with the financing of humanitarian assistance. There is a whole series of examples of that.

We need to work with our companies. We are working now in terms of a human rights dialogue with businesses in Ireland, to make businesses more aware of their own responsibilities in terms of how they source and who they source from, work with and so on. That will become more a part of international business in the future.

There are some very complicated situations. Taking Libya as an example, there are no simple solutions there. We are trying within the European Union to provide humanitarian assistance in the Mediterranean. We have picked more than 16,000 people out of the sea, many of them children. I will not stand for Libya being used as an example of Ireland not fulfilling its international obligations in respect of the genuine human rights concerns that exist.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Trade missions will focus on the Eurozone and key markets with which the EU has or is currently negotiating free trade agreements. Ministerial-led trade missions and international events are essential to supporting Irish companies expand their global footprint and realise their full growth potential.

My Department works closely with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Enterprise Ireland and other State agencies, both at home and overseas, to support Enterprise Ireland led trade missions, and to ensure that firms based in Ireland are enabled to take advantage of new market opportunities. This approach is set out in the Government’s trade strategy, Ireland Connected: Trading and Investing in a Dynamic World, which was published in March of last year. The embassy network also plays an important role in supporting and deepening trade and investment relationships around the world, by raising Ireland’s visibility in markets, proactively addressing market access issues, hosting high-level events in support of Irish business, brokering introductions and offering guidance on local markets and business culture.

Ireland has always been at the forefront internationally in raising human rights issues through bilateral contacts and through the European Union and the United Nations. We have never shied away from addressing human rights issues. However, the primary focus of a trade mission is to encourage business-to-business links and encourage investment and employment opportunities. If we want to be effective in addressing human rights issues with countries, we must do it in an appropriate way and at the right opportunity, so that our concerns are taken seriously and acted upon.

The human rights unit of my Department is currently leading work on the implementation of Ireland’s national plan on business and human rights, which I launched on 15 November. The plan is a whole-of-Government initiative that has been developed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with the support and co-operation of a number of Government Departments and State agencies. The aim of the plan is to promote responsible business practices at home and overseas by all Irish business enterprises, in line with Ireland’s commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights globally. The plan is directed at Government and State agencies, Irish companies operating at home and overseas, and multinational enterprises operating in Ireland.

The plan mandates a number of actions to be carried out across Government, the implementation of which will be overseen by the implementation group of the national action plan on business and human rights, which will be established in the coming months.

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