Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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195. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has carried out any scoping on the potential increase to the administrative burden for SMEs as a result of the proposed move from a risk-based corporate due diligence obligation currently contained in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive to a more onerous due diligence obligation exclusively for Tier 1 suppliers currently being proposed as part of the EU Omnibus Package; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26531/25]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The European Commission’s ‘omnibus on sustainability’ was published on 26 February 2025 and includes proposals for legislative change across a number of areas including the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

My Department is continuing to assess the implications for business, including SMEs, as the discussions on the omnibus progress at EU level. The motivation behind the proposals is to reduce disproportionate burdens on business, and this will include minimising any indirect impacts on SMEs that are not in scope of the CSDDD.

In relation to the necessity to conduct a risk-based approach, the proposal retains the requirement for in-scope companies to conduct risk-based human rights and environmental due diligence of their own operations, those of their subsidiaries and their direct business partners. Companies will also be required to conduct in-depth assessments where plausible information suggests the existence or possibility of adverse impacts arising from the operations of their indirect business partners.