Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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I hope the Minister of State will speak to us about a matter of great urgency. My Commencement matter concerns what steps Ireland is taking to ensure there is a proper process for the very alarming proposal by the European Commission for what is called the "omnibus Bill", which has been called the "bonfire of regulation", to open up the corporate sustainability due diligence directive. This directive was agreed just last year after a lengthy process of many years in which our own Government played an important role, and on which I spoke to the previous Minister, in, for example, pushing for stronger gender equality provisions. Our national business and human rights strategy strongly references the corporate sustainability due diligence directive. Companies that engage in best practice have already started the process of implementing due diligence and proper processes within their companies. This applies to the very largest companies. This is not something that applies to small or medium companies but to the very largest corporations in order that they would have proper standards governing their supply chains and their impact on human rights and on the environment.

Along with the taxonomy, it is now proposed that the corporate sustainability reporting directive agreed just last year be opened up and started again in a back to the drawing board move from the European Commission. This in itself is really shocking because it sends a signal, in terms of the balance of powers within Europe, that the Commission feels it can trample on the work done by national governments through the European Council and by elected representatives in the European Parliament if it does not like the outcome and can effectively seek to scrap those laws.

To be very clear, it is being framed as a simplification but it is not. It is being framed as being related to reporting. The corporate sustainability due diligence directive is not to do with reporting, primarily, and anything that is to do with reporting could have been dealt with through other subsidiary Acts and tools attached. Opening up the directive is, as has been said by the director of the European Coalition for Corporate Justice:

...a full-scale deregulation designed to dismantle corporate accountability and abandon the EU's Green Deal commitments ... [signalling] that corporate profits are more important people's lives or the future of our planet.

That is something Barry Andrews MEP agreed with when describing this as a gutting of corporate accountability and of the EU Green Deal.

Why was there no impact assessment and why has there been no public consultation on the proposal as required under the Commission's own better regulation principles? What engagement has the Irish State had to demand a better process on this? I note there have been closed consultations, effectively in secret, with large corporations only and very few of the large corporations that support this directive. Many of them support having proper sustainability because they want to be able to continue their business on a liveable planet.However, companies like ExxonMobil and other large fossil fuel companies that have caused the climate crisis are the ones invited into the room with the European Commission to say how they want it to change these directives, and what changes they want it to make. I hear the proposal will be published today. My Commencement matter said that surely it should not be published without a proper open public consultation and, for example, the Irish State taking a stand in support of proper sustainability standards and due diligence. In fact, we are hearing that it will be published today, and will not look at simplification of reporting, but will try to remove civil liability so there is no liability for corporations. It will limit who it applies to even further than the tiny percentage. It will also say that you can have a climate transition plan, but you do not need to implement it, which is effectively meaningless.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Go raibh maith agat, Senator.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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As the Minister of State can see, I am very concerned. I would like to know what position Ireland is taking. Ireland played a positive role in the original negotiation. What are we doing now about this alarming development?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Higgins for raising this important matter to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. There is a particular focus on simplification and burden reduction at EU level following on from the Letta and Draghi reports published in 2024. The European Council has called for a simplification revolution by ensuring a clear, simple and smart regulatory framework for businesses and drastically reducing administrative, regulatory and reporting burdens, in particular for small and medium enterprises. One of the key objectives to be implemented without delay was reducing reporting requirements by at least 25% in the first half of 2025.

The European Commission’s work programme for 2025, which was published last week, places a strong focus on simplification and proposes a series of so-called omnibus proposals to include an omnibus package on simplification, investment simplification, small mid-caps and the removal of paper requirements and a digital package.

Ireland welcomes the increased focus on better regulation and simplification at EU level. This includes the appointment of Commissioner Dombrovskis as Commissioner for implementation and simplification with responsibility for co-ordinating the Commission’s burden reduction and simplification initiatives. The mission letters from President von der Leyen to each Commissioner have effectively mainstreamed the better regulation agenda, with all Commissioners now tasked with reducing administrative burdens and reviewing the legislation within their remit. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has responsibility for both the corporate sustainability due diligence directive, CSDDD, and the corporate sustainability reporting directive, CSRD, and is supportive of their objectives, which aim to promote responsible business conduct. The EU taxonomy regulation is under the remit of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe.

I understand that the European Commission in recent weeks held a number of round-table consultations with representatives from industry and civil society as part of its preparations for the development of the omnibus proposal on sustainability. I also understand that this proposal is formally being presented to EU ambassadors today, as Senator Higgins outlined, and will subsequently be published. Officials in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will carefully examine the content of the proposal once published and will engage with the appropriate working group in Brussels, prior to the proposal being finalised.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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The alarming thing is that the proposal is to bring this back to level 1. We take a process that took years and go back to the drawing board. Those are years we do not have. We are at the end of the ten hottest years on record. It is frankly patronising to the public that the word “simplification” gets used again and again when what is being done is clearly deregulation and a move away from sustainability and acting on climate. Whatever the threats to Europe we hear about, let us be clear what the threats to the world and Europe are if we fail to act on climate. The idea that we would be competitively chasing the US, which has pulled out of the Paris Agreement, and setting the world on fire to do so is not acceptable.

I want two answers from the Minister of State because I did not have them. What is he doing about the process in terms of the idea of it reopening to level 1? He said he supports the CSDDD. Will the Irish State continue to implement the CSDDD rather than putting things on ice until this new revised version comes through, which could take years? Will we continue to give rewards to the good companies rather than reward the laggards that have failed to act?

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Thank you, Senator.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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Will we reward those companies that have been acting responsibly? Will we show leadership by implementing the CSDDD during the period of time before this new version, which may be years?

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Thank you, Senator.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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I would like to know that. That is a direct question to the Minister of State. Will we be going ahead with implementation as planned and promised?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I will relay the Senator's question, perspective and views as expressed here to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment following from this Commencement matter and the discussion.

As I have indicated, we are seeing a particular focus on simplification and burden reduction at EU level with a view to improving EU competitiveness generally and ensuring there are not disproportionate burdens on business, particularly SMEs. That has been articulated in the Letta and Draghi reports as the Senator knows. As part of the simplification agenda at EU level, each Commissioner is required to hold at least two implementation dialogue meetings with stakeholders to assess progress and identify areas needing attention for EU policies which will deliver real impactful results. That is an important part of the process as it will provide-----

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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You have answered about simplification and not about sustainability.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Senator Higgins, allow the Minister of State.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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It will provide stakeholders with an opportunity to feed into and influence the Commission’s simplification agenda.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will review the content of the omnibus proposal when it is published in the context of improving competitiveness while, importantly, seeking to strike the appropriate balance between providing effective protections for stakeholders and ensuring that the measures to be implemented by companies, and in particular SMEs, are clear, proportionate and, importantly, enforceable. The Department will also engage with the appropriate working group in Brussels as discussions on the proposal progress. I will relay the Senator's contribution today and her points in this matter to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for his full consideration.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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Sustainability is the issue, not simplification. We need to hear about that. I understand the Minister of State has been given what he has been given but it does not answer it.