The second National Plan on Business and Human Rights is being jointly prepared by my Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The new National Plan is intended to build on the achievements of the first plan, while reflecting new developments at international and EU level, including the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
Ireland is committed to the transposition of the CSDDD by the July 2028 deadline, with the first tranche of companies coming within scope in 2029. The CSDDD will oblige in-scope companies to conduct risk-based human rights and environmental due diligence to identify and mitigate actual or potential adverse impacts arising from their operations, their subsidiaries, and their chain of activities.
Officials from my Department continue to liaise with relevant officials across Government to incorporate these and other updates in the Second National Action Plan. Once these actions are agreed to, the second National Action Plan will be presented to the Stakeholder Forum for consideration, with a view to publishing soon thereafter.
Throughout the drafting process, stakeholder engagement has remained a key priority. The Business and Human Rights Stakeholder Forum has met twice, proving invaluable in shaping the draft National Action Plan. Stakeholders have provided strong feedback of draft action points, which will ensure actions are deliverable, measured, and specific.
The finalised plan will cover a multi-annual timeframe and will reflect new developments in the international understanding of business and human rights. It will have key performance indicators which will have assigned responsibilities and timelines to adhere to. I expect this to bring human rights to the fore in the minds of Irish businesses so they can demonstrate their conscientious performance as required by the public.
