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

There are two issues here. One is that we have to get our house in order domestically in respect of business and human rights. I answered questions earlier on what we are doing on that score. We have committed in the programme for Government to review what we had been doing for the past number of years so we can be a credible international contributor to the debate on this issue.

Second, at UN level and as an EU member state we must try to do everything we can to shape an approach within the European Union that is consistent across the Union, if possible, and which ensures the Union and its member states, go as far as we can to ensure the Union becomes a leader in the context of ensuring that not only transnational companies but also domestically focused companies are applying by a common standard and factor in human rights considerations in their business models, sourcing models, supply chains and so on.

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