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

As I said earlier, the EU holds the competences for many of the issues covered by the proposed legally binding instrument, which is being developed in an open-ended intergovernmental working group on transitional corporations and human rights. We have made clear in Brussels and Geneva that Ireland favours constructive engagement in the treaty negotiations. During the most recent negotiation session in Geneva, the EU offered to assist the chairperson and rapporteur of the working group to explore ideas for a consensus-based, legally binding instrument. As the EU made clear in the negotiations in Geneva, if any proposed treaty is to be effective, it will need to attract wide, cross-regional support. This is essential for the proposed legally binding instrument to ensure it will be effectively implemented in a way that protects victims of business-related human rights violations and creates a more global level playing field. We are in the middle of that discussion and I hope it can produce positive results.

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