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

Ireland remains open to looking at options for progress on a legally binding treaty. The sixth session of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises took place from 26 to 30 October last. The European Union delivered a statement and separately raised specific concerns relating to the draft text on behalf of Ireland and other member states. The EU statement welcomed some of the changes to the latest draft of the legally binding instrument, highlighted further necessary changes and outlined the many measures under way in the EU and across member states to give greater protection to human rights in the context of business activities.

In simple terms, the question raised by the Deputy is under active consideration.

We need to know the consequences of the decision that we make. We also need to make sure that it is capable of being implemented. We also need to try to ensure consistency across the European Union for all sorts of reasons, not least membership of the Single Market.

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