Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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296. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will address concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied) regarding Ireland’s role in the importation of goods produced through forced labour and hazardous child labour, including enforcement gaps, delays in corporate accountability measures, and the adequacy of penalties and regulatory powers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50642/26]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment recognises the importance of addressing the risk of adverse human rights and environmental impacts in global supply chains. The appropriate legislative initiatives are best progressed at EU level in recognition of the complex, international nature of many supply chains and to ensure harmonisation, promote policy coherence and avoid the risk of fragmentation within the EU single market.

My Department is leading preparations for the full implementation of two such EU initiatives. Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 prohibits the placing and making available of products made with forced labour on the EU market, as well as their export from the EU. The Regulation entered into force in December 2024 and will fully apply from December 2027.

Ireland’s National Competent Authorities under this regulation, which will have lead responsibility for enforcing its provisions in Ireland, were designated in December 2025.

The Workplace Relations Commission will have primary responsibility for investigating suspected cases of products made with forced labour in Ireland, as well as for issuing any prohibition orders against products confirmed as having been made with forced labour, while the relevant Market Surveillance Authority will have responsibility for enforcing any orders. Ireland’s competent authorities will be supported in this work by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Customs).

The relevant Market Surveillance Authority, supported by Customs, will also be responsible for enforcing any prohibition orders issued by other Member States, as well as by the European Commission against a third country imported product confirmed as having been made with forced labour.

The Regulation also makes provision for effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties applicable to economic operators for non-compliance with prohibition orders. Member States are required to notify the European Commission of the penalties they intend to adopt for the purposes of enforcing the Regulation by December this year.

The Workplace Relations Commission and Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment are also providing Ireland’s representation on the EU’s Union Network against Forced Labour Products, composed of Member State competent authorities and the European Commission, which met for the first time in late 2025 to prepare for the regulation’s full implementation and ensure a coordinated approach across the EU.

My Department is also leading on the transposition of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which provides that in-scope companies will, for the first time, have legal obligations to conduct risk based human rights and environmental due diligence and integrate due diligence into all corporate policies and risk management systems.

In-scope companies will be required to identify those parts of their chain of activities where adverse in human rights or environmental impacts are most likely to occur and are most severe, and to carry out an in-depth assessment of those prioritised areas.

The Directive also requires Member States to provide for effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for companies that fail to comply with their due diligence requirements. My Department is working to ensure transposition of the Directive by the July 2028 deadline, with the first tranche of companies coming within scope in 2029.