Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It appears that Ireland is not connected to this at all. As far as I can see, only two companies are involved in any way in this process, AIB and the Euronext Dublin Stock Exchange. What are some of the large publicly quoted companies in this country? They all have significant climate risks. They include Glanbia, the Kerry Group, CRH and Ryanair, and have exposure because they are in high emissions businesses. It is in their interests to be up first, if they are not to face into a world where they will have difficulties in terms of their ability to raise finance, attract customers and avoid some of the costs that come with non-compliance with proper reporting. We should be ahead of the game rather than waiting for the Commission to make this sort of reporting mandatory.

I am not sure exactly what the Department can do in that regard. To be honest, I would be nervous about trying to involve the Department of Finance because I am looking at this from an enterprise strategy rather than a financial regulatory strategy point of view. It is important that Irish businesses wake up and realise that carrying an Origin Green band with no real disclosure on what they are actually doing from the field to a customer's fork and plate is no longer credible. The Kerry Group can sell a lot of baby powder, but if it is not disclosing where it is coming from and how it is working it is exposed as a company, just as are all large Irish companies. I encourage the Minister, on an enterprise strategy basis, to get active about this.

See this speech in context