Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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170. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views regarding the EU omnibus simplification package; the engagement his Department has had regarding this package; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28374/25]

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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171. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the impact on businesses in Ireland of the adoption of the EU omnibus simplification package; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28375/25]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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There is a particular focus on simplification and burden reduction at EU level with a view to improving EU competitiveness and ensuring that there aren’t disproportionate burdens on business, particularly SMEs. This is articulated in the Letta and Draghi Reports and has informed the work programme of the European Commission, which proposes a series of “omnibus proposals” intended to address unnecessary or disproportionate rules that place unnecessary burdens on EU business.

The first omnibus dealing with sustainability matters was published on 26 February 2025 and proposes amendments to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the Taxonomy Delegated Acts. A second Omnibus, with a proposal to amend the InvestEu Regulation, was also published at that time. Further Omnibus proposals have recently been published relating to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and for small mid-cap companies.

In the context of optimising the competitiveness of EU companies in the evolving global trading environment and ensuring proportionality, I am supportive in principle of initiatives to simplify the reporting requirements and reduce costs on companies, and most especially for SMEs. Of direct relevance to my Department are the proposed changes to the CSRD and CSDDD, contained in the first Omnibus proposal. The co-called “stop the clock” aspect of that proposal, which postpones the dates for certain corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements, has been agreed. Consideration of the “content” aspects of the proposal is ongoing at EU level and my Department is continuing to assess the implications as these discussions progress.

In relation to the CSRD, the European Commission estimates that the proposed changes will remove approximately 80% of companies from the scope of the CSRD, focusing the sustainability reporting obligations on the largest companies which are more likely to have the biggest impacts on people and the environment. The proposed changes to the CSDDD are intended to significantly reduce the administrative burden on companies within scope and the trickle-down effect on SMEs.