Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
406. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the current status of Action 2.5 of the National LGBTI Inclusion Strategy (for which his Department is responsible); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36944/23]
View answerAction 2.5 of the National LGBTI Inclusion Strategy refers to utilising the Corporate Social Responsibility Stakeholder Forum to advance LGBTI+ workplace inclusion amongst private sector employers, and to raise awareness of the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy through the available Corporate Social Responsibility channels.
The CSR Stakeholder Forum was a business led voluntary body that was tasked with driving the implementation of the seventeen actions in the National Plan on CSR. Over the period the Forum developed a work programme each year which focused on themes that aligned with actions in the National Plan on CSR.
Towards Responsible Business, Ireland’s National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility 2017-2020 was published in June 2017. The aim of the Plan was to continue to build on the awareness created under the first National Plan on CSR Good for Business Good for Community, Ireland’s National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility 2014-2016.
The second National Plan on CSR 2017-2020 set out seventeen actions across four goals (i) awareness (ii) access (iii) support and (iv) policy alignment under four key dimensions: The Workplace, The Environment, The Community and The Marketplace. The Workplace as one of the four dimensions of CSR, covers a wide range of best practice initiatives including active management of equality and diversity measures. Over the course of the National Plan 2017 – 2020, the CSR Stakeholder Forum worked with relevant Government Departments, agencies and businesses to help and to promote the integration of workplace CSR best practice.
Diversity and Inclusion was a key theme identified by the CSR Stakeholder Forum as part of its 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 work programme and the Forum established a CSR Project Team on Diversity and Inclusion with a dedicated session on Diversity and Inclusion at the CSR Stakeholder Forum’s meeting in November 2018. The meeting was open to non-Forum members and over sixty people attended from Government, business and civil society.
Over the period of the Second National Plan on CSR 2017 – 2020, the Stakeholder Forum in the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (now Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment) contributed to key policy areas including the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy
Three Progress Reports were published under Towards Responsible Business, Ireland’s National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility 2017-2020 - CSR Check 2018, CSR Check 2019 and CSR Check 2020. The CSR Checks are available on enterprise.gov.ie.
CSR Check 2020 was the final Progress Report on the National Plan on CSR 2017-2020 and concluded the initiative.
CSR Check 2020 highlighted that the Irish Government recognises the key role that CSR can play in the promotion of growth, quality jobs and inclusiveness. The contribution that business, both small and large, makes to build a more inclusive Ireland, shows that Ireland is a good place to do business and this is fundamental to building a sustainable economy and society.
There are multiple initiatives underway across the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, that relate to new EU and other international regulations on how businesses operate, with a view to promoting positive impacts (and reducing negative impacts) on environmental, societal and human rights issues. These initiatives, which broadly correlate to the corporate ESG agenda and are inter-related, are being coordinated within DETE under the heading of “Responsible Business” and further information on this is available on the Department's website www.enterprise.gov.ie.
