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

We are pushing for increased EU involvement. In response to Deputy Shortall earlier I stated we had pushed the European Union to increase its engagement. It made a statement both at the start and at the end of the process in Geneva. We need to continue to do this. We also need to ensure our national plan is credible and that the implementation group will continue to meet. It has met three times this year and will meet again in January. The chairperson is an extremely credible individual with considerable business experience. While we are trying to move the agenda forward, it needs to happen at a global level through the United Nations. I believe 16 EU countries have national plans, of about only 22 globally. The European Union is engaged in this area, but it is really important that it be brought forward in the context of UN structures. Otherwise the European Union will be doing things internally based on how it operates the Single Market and the regulatory environment. Potentially the companies we are trying to target will leave the European Union and locate elsewhere because of the lack of regulation there. This needs to happen in a way that will be benchmarked across the globe, as opposed to focusing on the European Union, but that does not mean that we cannot lead by example.

See this speech in context