Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 November 2021
61. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his attendance in October 2021 at the 2021 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Ministerial Council meeting. [56378/21]
View answerMinister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne attended the 2021 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council meeting (MCM) on the 5-6th October.
The Ministerial Council Meeting, which was timed to mark the 60th anniversary of the OECD, saw Ministers agree a New Vision Statement and Global Relations Strategy to guide the work of the organisation over the next decade. Also on the agenda was a focus on addressing the medium and long-term challenges facing the global economy, with an emphasis on the green and digital transitions and gender equality.
Three substantive developments emerged from the Ministerial Council Meeting – consideration of enlargement of the OECD, an Inclusive Framework on Implicit and Explicit Carbon Pricing and agreement of a new tax framework to address the tax challenges of digitalisation.
Minister Byrne attended the Members only session, during which the importance of the shared values’ of the OECD were reaffirmed and a common vision for the future of the OECD were discussed, later being adopted as the New Vision Statement for the OECD.
During these discussions, Minister Byrne hailed the important contribution of the OECD to multilateralism and the rules based system over its six decades. In pledging support for the New Vision Statement, he highlighted the platform the OECD provides Members to build the prosperity needed to tackle inequalities and meet the needs of our citizens. He urged Members to accept the opportunities and challenges posed by climate and digital transitions in building a sustainable recovery from the pandemic.
Minister Byrne also spoke of the importance of cultivating public trust in Government as a source of truth and authority and pointed to the high vaccine uptake in Ireland as a sign of such public trust. He noted the need to mainstream gender equality by removing social and economic barriers limiting women and girls and to accelerate global co-operation, in particular with developing countries who are more severely impacted by climate change.
Minister Byrne also attended a discussion focused on innovation and inclusive pathways to net-zero.
