Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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478.To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of consideration of the complaint by GLAN against the ESB to the National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, regarding the purchase of coal by the ESB from a mine (details supplied) in La Guajira, Colombia; the timeline for when a final statement will issue in respect of the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[35130/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct are recommendations on responsible business conduct (RBC) addressed by governments to multinational enterprises operating in or from adhering countries. They provide non-binding principles and standards for responsible business conduct in a global context, consistent with applicable laws and internationally recognised standards.

As part of its remit, the Ireland National Contact Point (NCP) provides a non-judicial grievance mechanism to address complaints of alleged non-observance of the Guidelines. If its initial assessment is that a complaint merits further examination, the NCP offers its good offices to help parties resolve complaints through a mediation/conciliation platform.

The NCP’s initial assessment of GLAN’s complaint was published on the NCP website (see: enterprise.gov.ie/en/publications/publication-files/initial-assessment-ireland-ncp-si-esb.pdf). The initial assessment is not a finding that the corporation was or was not in breach of the Guidelines. Rather, in keeping with the NCP’s rules of procedure, it found that certain aspects of the complaint merited further examination and the NCP offered its good offices.

The good offices process is intended to lead to a constructive outcome based on consensus and good-faith engagement. As discussions are confidential at this stage in the process, it would not be appropriate to comment further. However, a final statement will be produced by the NCP at the end of the process which will be published on the website.