CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN GENERAL
1. CSR values and practices, including levels of support from government, business and the general public
Over the past 15 years the Irish economy has experienced growth levels greater than most other national economies. The country’s economic climate is unrecognisable from that which existed prior to the boom. However, along with the unprecedented growth came an awareness of other factors that might threaten to undermine the buoyant economy, including uneven corporate governance standards. Following some high-profile instances of corporate misbehaviour, and regulatory and legislative responses to them, Irish companies are becoming more aware of the importance of behaving as good corporate citizens. Overall responsibility for CSR at government level is shared between departments including the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DEHL) and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DCRG). The DETE, in its Sustainable Development Strategy 2003-2005, recognised the need for a balance between the economic, social and environmental dimensions of growth, and committed itself to encouraging enterprises to support and adopt socially and environmentally responsible attitudes and practices; the DEHL has as one of its objectives the integration of environmental considerations into economic and sectoral policies; and the DCRG is responsible for assisting businesses to implement CSR programmes at a community level and co-ordinates programmes nationally aimed at tackling social exclusion.
Business in the Community, Ireland (BITCI) is a business-led non-profit organisation, established in 2000, that promotes CSR policies and practices. BITCI offers an advisory service on CSR integration to its members and is committed to building expertise on CSR in Ireland. BITCI collaborates with organisations nationally, including government departments, and internationally in the provision of its services. The Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation (IBEC), as the national voice for Irish businesses and employers, has in more recent years also begun to offer advice to its members on CSR. In 2001 it published Corporate Governance and Conduct Guidelines in an effort to help companies develop, review and maintain sound corporate governance practices; its intention was that this document would be adopted by Irish companies at board level.
A survey of consumer attitudes towards CSR in Ireland, conducted in 2003 by BITCI, found that 60 per cent of Irish adults believe that industry and commerce do not pay enough attention to their social responsibilities, and that 70 per cent of Irish customers say that a company’s commitment to CSR is important to them when buying a product or service. However, recent instances of overcharging by some Irish businesses in a number of sectors do not appear, at least on the surface, to have been accompanied by any adverse consumer reaction.
2. Laws, statutes, government publications or other significant framework documents
Whilst momentum is certainly building on CSR in both government and business, no attempt has been made to legislate specifically for it. For the most part it is up to companies themselves to determine the extent, if any, to which CSR modifies their strategies. The aspirations of the government departments involved in promoting CSR have not been formalised in legislation – but obligations on Irish companies to become more socially responsible, in particular in relation to the environment, their employees and in matters of corporate governance, have increased in recent years.
New Irish company legislation will considerably increase the compliance reporting regime to which Irish companies and their directors are subject. The Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003 will require directors of certain medium-sized and large private companies, and all public companies (whether listed or not), to state their policies and procedures as regards compliance with company law, tax law and other material legal obligations, and to comment annually on the effectiveness of these procedures. The auditors are required to certify annually that these statements are ‘fair and reasonable’. These obligations will result in directors of Irish companies having, in some respects, more onerous responsibilities than those imposed on US companies by the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. The new law is perceived by many commentators as unduly burdensome and may, in the absence of sensible enforcement, become difficult to operate. In the long run it is, however, likely to lead to greater levels of compliance. Under the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2004, the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority can require regulated entities (eg banks, insurance companies, investment funds) to produce on request compliance statements in relation to their legal obligations.
3. International treaties, conventions or standards
Ireland is party to a number of international agreements which place obligations on it that are commonly related to CSR. While none of these treaties place obligations directly on businesses, the Irish government has committed itself to upholding their terms. In the DETE’s Sustainable Development Strategy 2003-2005 Ireland’s responsibilities under a number of agreements were acknowledged, namely the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the agreements arising from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.
It is interesting to consider recent developments in relation to Ireland’s obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. The government launched the National Climate Change Strategy in November 2000 to ensure Ireland met its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. The measures proposed included the introduction of a carbon tax which was to apply across the board to industry, agriculture, transport and domestic fuels. The Department of Finance published a Consultation Paper on Proposals for a Carbon Energy Tax in Ireland in July 2003 and 117 submissions were received, over half of which were from private companies and individuals, following its publication. On 10 September 2004 the Minister for Finance announced that the tax was to be abandoned, as, first, most submissions opposed the tax and, further, the tax would have led to only a small reduction in Ireland’s carbon dioxide emissions. This decision was taken despite the fact that both the Economic and Social Research Institute of Ireland and the OECD considered a carbon tax necessary in Ireland to alter society’s behaviour. Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions are among the highest on a per capita basis and a carbon tax would have represented, in the view of the Department of Finance tax strategy group, “the least cost and most efficient method of achieving the required reduction in emissions on an economy wide basis”. Ireland will now seek to comply with its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol by relying on other measures in the National Climate Change Strategy, for example by introducing a scheme for emissions licensing and trading. Ireland is in the process of implementing Directive 2003/87/EC, the Emissions Trading Directive. The Emissions Trading Unit has been established, to which certain industries must apply for a greenhouse gases Emission Permit authorising production of a certain level of emissions. Under the scheme, which came into force on 1 January 2005, it will be an offence to operate without a Permit.
4. Non-statutory sources of liability for companies
Liability may arise to a company under the common law rules of negligence. An action in negligence arises from a failure to exercise the standard of care demanded in certain circumstances with the result that the plaintiff suffers an injury. There are four basic elements in this tort:
| duty of care; | |
| breach of the duty of care (by failing to conform to the required standards of action); | |
| actual and foreseeable loss or damage; and | |
| sufficient causal connection between the conduct and the damage. |
In practical terms, it can be quite difficult to establish negligence. Perhaps the most relevant tortious rules in the context of CSR is nuisance. A nuisance is described as an act or omission which amounts to unreasonable interference with, disturbance of or annoyance to, another person in the exercise of his rights. Often private actions are taken against companies for nuisance where the industrial endeavours of a company lead to disturbance of the local community. Interferences such as noise, smells, dust and vibrations have all been held capable of supporting an action for nuisance.
5. Principal institutions, government agencies and/or major non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
A number of government departments are involved in promoting CSR, as described above. Whether the Irish government should consider assigning sole responsibility to one department for CSR is worth considering: it is unclear where ultimate responsibility for CSR lies. The DCRG is responsible at a national level for co-ordinating community-based initiatives that concern CSR; the DEHL promotes nationally the integration of environmental protection and economic development; and the DETE has undertaken responsibility for encouraging and supporting the adoption of socially and environmentally responsible practices by enterprises, and is also responsible for co-ordinating EU policy in relation to CSR at a national level. Added to this, the sole government submission in relation to the European Commission’s Green Paper, Promoting a European Framework for CSR, was made by yet another department, the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs. (Following a government reorganisation, the Community element of what was the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs was reassigned to DCRG.) No government department oversees the broader scheme of CSR at a national level, nor have any moves been made to co-ordinate the approaches of those departments which promote CSR within their remit. It is difficult to see how Irish government policy on CSR can progress in a convincing way under these circumstances.
BITCI has undertaken the role of promoting CSR amongst Irish businesses and offers services to businesses to enable them to improve their approach to CSR, eg it supports and advises businesses in assessing and reporting on CSR activities, offers advice to business in reorganising CSR activities so as to have a greater impact on the community and has created schemes to assist businesses to integrate themselves with local communities. IBEC also educates its members (employers and businesses) on CSR. Its director general, Turlough O’Sullivan, has stated that IBEC is firmly of the view that any European approach to CSR should be voluntary. The National Standards Authority of Ireland, Ireland’s standards body, facilitates the development of voluntary standard documents and is a leading supplier of product and systems Certifications Services, both domestically and internationally. It was elected to the International Organisation for Standardisation Council for 2003-2004 – a term during which the ISO published a Working Report on Social Responsibility, which analysed current CSR initiatives and considered the possibility of developing an international CSR standardisation process.
While these organisations promote CSR generally, a number of others (both governmental and non-governmental) promote CSR to businesses in a more defined context, eg the Environmental Protection Agency, Repak, Amnesty, the Institute of Directors of Ireland, the Health and Safety Authority, Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.
SPECIFIC AREAS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
6. Human rights
Specific protection for human rights in Ireland was first developed under the 1937 Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hEireann), under which every citizen is guaranteed personal rights. Certain of these rights are specifically stated or enumerated – the right to liberty, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience – while others are not, but are guaranteed under the implied rights jurisprudence as developed by the Supreme Court of Ireland, for example the right to bodily integrity and the right of access to the courts. Ireland was also one of the original signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Despite the recognition afforded to human rights, the Irish government has been slow to impose specific obligations on Irish companies in this regard. Indeed, Ireland was the last country to give effect to the European Convention at national law: it was indirectly incorporated into Irish law under the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 at a sub-constitutional level, which itself gave rise to much criticism. This Act does not impose positive obligations on companies or individuals. Irish courts are required to interpret and apply all other legislation in a manner compatible with the Convention and state organs must also perform their functions in a manner compatible with the Convention.
The Human Rights Commission, which was statutorily established in 2000, is charged with promoting and protecting human rights under both the Constitution of Ireland and international agreements to which Ireland is a party. Promoting an understanding and awareness of human rights is considered to be central to its objectives, and it undertakes educational programmes and seminars to increase awareness of national and international human rights standards – but so far these have been undertaken at a general level and none have yet been aimed specifically at corporate activity.
7. Corruption
Ireland has ranked relatively high on the OECD corruption index in recent years. Over the past decade, the veil has been lifted on several financial scandals involving large businesses, and of political and official corruption. The Irish government has over the past decade launched a formal attack on such corrupt practices, using both existing legislation and new laws. Specific legislation and guidelines have been introduced aimed at preventing similar corrupt practices from arising again in the public sector. The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2001 strengthened and modernised existing anti-corruption legislation. It applies to a wide range of office holders and employees of public bodies, including members of the Oireachtas (Parliament), judges, members of foreign governments or parliaments acting in Ireland and members of the European Commission and European Parliament. The legislation also applies to spouses and relatives of those persons covered where benefits are conferred on them.
The Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 introduced an institutional framework to monitor the private interests of persons working in the public sector. It provides for the disclosure of personal and business interests of those holding senior positions in state-owned companies and prohibits those persons from acting where a conflict of interest arises between the public interest and their personal interest. The Standards in Public Office Commission, established under the Standards in Public Office Act 2001, supervises compliance with the 1995 Act (as amended) and has powers to investigate matters arising thereunder. State-owned companies are further required under the 2001 Act to introduce codes of conduct for their employees.
While this legislation and guidelines apply only to state-owned companies, further legislation was introduced to prevent private people and organisations from benefiting as a result of their wrongdoings in a more global context. The Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 and Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996, which were considered by many to be quite radical when introduced, aimed initially at combating drug trafficking and organised crime, but apply equally to corporate criminal activity. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, the Irish High Court may grant an injunction to freeze property which constitutes directly or indirectly the proceeds of crime, and further may dispose of such property and apply the proceeds to the benefit of the Central Exchequer; by the beginning of 2004, more than €50 million worth of assets that derived directly or indirectly from crime had been frozen in this way. The Criminal Assets Bureau, established under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act as a branch of an Garda Síochána (the Irish police force), is a multi-agency body consisting of members of an Garda Síochána, Revenue Commissioners’ officials and officials of the Department of Social and Family Affairs. It enables government agencies to exchange information and co-operate effectively in the investigation and prosecution of criminal activity. In addition to assets recovered by it under Proceeds of Crime Act 1996, the Criminal Assets Bureau also has statutory remit under the revenue laws, and in 2003 alone collected around €10 million under revenue legislation. In cases of commercial fraud, the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation works closely with the Criminal Assets Bureau. The success of these two pieces of legislation is reflected in the fact that they have been used as a model for similar measures in other jurisdictions.
8. Corporate governance and business ethics
Corporate governance issues are dealt with by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE), a government agency charged with encouraging compliance with the Companies Acts and bringing to account those who disregard company law. To facilitate compliance with company law, the ODCE has published information booklets that outline the principle duties and responsibilities of companies and officers of companies and makes presentations on compliance and related issues to interested parties. In 2003, more than 3,000 reports of possible non-compliance were made to the ODCE, and in that same year the ODCE instituted the first summary prosecutions in respect of company law offences.
A forum to exchange ideas and information on corporate governance, and for the promotion of standards and performance of directors, is provided for company directors and those involved in corporate governance by the Institute of Directors of Ireland (IODI), established in 1980. The IODI has more than 1,000 members including chairpersons, senior executives and directors across a range of national, international and semi-state companies. Among its services it offers a ‘Boardroom Centre’ which assists companies with the selection and appointment of suitable non-executive directors and offers corporate advice and assistance to members. The IODI, in association with one of Ireland’s national universities, University College Dublin, set up a not-for-profit Centre for Corporate Governance in 2002. The Centre’s main aim is to promote excellence in corporate governance in Ireland by providing director training and education in this area. During the first ten months of 2004, 247 people undertook courses at the centre.
The Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003, signed into law at the end of 2003, inter alia, introduces a new reporting framework which require the policies and procedures of certain Irish companies in relation to statutory compliance to be publicly stated. Specifically, directors of public limited companies and private limited companies, over a certain size, will be required to include a compliance policy statement and a compliance related statement in the annual accounts which must be reviewed by the auditors annually. The compliance statement must set out the company’s policies in relation to compliance with its ‘relevant obligations’, ie obligations under the Companies Acts, the tax code and other enactments that provide a legal framework within which the company operates and which may materially affect its financial statements. This statement must also set out the company’s internal procedures for securing compliance with such obligations and the arrangements for implementing and reviewing these policies and procedures. The directors must include an additional statement in their report, which is filed as a public document with the Companies Registration Office. This statement (the directors’ related statement) is to acknowledge the directors’ responsibility for securing compliance by the company with its relevant obligations, to confirm that the company has the necessary internal procedures designed to secure compliance and confirm that the directors have reviewed these procedures (or if not, specifying the reasons). The directors must also give an opinion as to whether they used all reasonable endeavours in the relevant financial year to secure compliance with the company’s relevant obligations in that financial year (or if not, specifying the reasons). The auditors will be required to undertake an annual review of the compliance statement and the related statement to determine whether the statements are fair and reasonable and report accordingly. Each director of a company that fails to prepare a compliance statement or to include a statement as required by the 2003 Act in the directors’ report will be guilty of an offence.
9. Corporate responsibility to employees
Under Irish company law, directors are to have regard in the performance of their duties to the interests of the company’s employees. However, this protection has been described as a ‘damp squib’, as it may only be enforced by the company itself. In reality employees are more likely to look to specific provisions of employment legislation to protect their interests. In respect of equality, prior to 1999 Irish legislation only covered discrimination based on sex or marital status, but these grounds have been extended under the Employment Equality Acts 1998 and 2004, and discrimination is now prohibited on grounds of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race or membership of the travelling community. Discrimination is prohibited not just in relation to conditions of employment, training, promotion and dismissal, but also in relation to access to employment, advertising, services of employment agencies, vocational training and membership of trade organisations and professional bodies. The Employment Equality Acts provide for implied entitlements in contracts of employment to equal pay (except for pensions) and equal terms and conditions of employment.
The Equality Authority, an independent body set up to promote equality under the 1998 Act, has developed various initiatives focused on the workplace and the labour market. In relation to accessibility of workplaces, these include family-friendly initiatives, equality in the workplace initiatives, equal pay and a scheme of employment equality reviews. Guidance materials have also been developed for employers. During 2003, race emerged as the ground under which most litigation was pursued by the Equality Authority, due to the difficult experiences of migrant workers in some sectors of the economy. The Equality Authority has issued specific guidelines to promote an intercultural workplace and employment equality policies.
Provision is made under Irish law for the protection of workers vis-à-vis maternity, adoptive, parental, health and safety leave and carers’ leave. Employers are not required to pay employees who avail of any such leave, however they are obliged to keep the same job open for those employees. In most cases employees will be entitled to 14 to 18 weeks’ leave (65 weeks in the case of carers’ leave) and provisions exist for extending such leave. Working hours are also limited by law: the maximum average hours that an employee may work is 48 per week, not including rest or lunch breaks, with the average generally worked out over a four-month reference period. Employees are entitled to rest periods of at least 11 consecutive hours in every 24 hour period, and must have at least one weekly rest period of 24 consecutive hours. This rest period must include a Sunday unless the employer specifically provides otherwise in the contract of employment. Sunday workers are normally entitled to receive additional pay. There is also legislation in place that protects the rights and interests of part-time workers, fixed-term workers and young people. Employment of children under the age of 14 is not permitted. A national minimum wage, introduced in 2000, applies to persons of any age who work under a contract of employment, including part-time workers: it is currently set at €7.00 per hour.
Under Irish health and safety legislation employers have a general duty to provide for the safety, health and welfare of their employees. This includes the obligation to provide:
| a workplace that is safe so far as reasonably practicable; | |
| safe means of access to and from the workplace; | |
| safe plant and machinery; | |
| systems of work that are planned, organised, performed and maintained in a safe manner; | |
| information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure safety and health at work; | |
| suitable protective clothing or equipment, where it is not reasonably practicable for an employer to eliminate hazards; | |
| adequate plans to be followed in an emergency; | |
| facilities for the welfare of employees at work; and | |
| a person charged with the responsibility of ensuring the safety and health of employees | |
| . |
Employers must prepare a safety statement, ie a general report setting out how the employer intends to secure the health, safety and welfare of its employees in its workplace. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA), created under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989 and responsible for securing health and safety at work, develops good practice and sound workplace policies by consulting with employers, employees and their representative bodies, and various advisory committees. The HSA monitors compliance with health and safety legislation and may take enforcement action where necessary. On 29 October 2004 the highest fine ever was issued under Irish health and safety legislation. The errant company pleaded guilty to six out of eight charges relating to two separate incidents. The second incident occurred just two weeks after the first and, in light of this, the Circuit Court judge saw fit to significantly increase the fines relating to the second event to reflect his view that the company had taken a ‘cavalier’ attitude to its health and safety obligations, given that it failed to take serious and immediate steps after the first incident. The company was fined a total of €1 million. New health and safety legislation was due to be introduced in 2004, increasing the level of maximum fines to €3 million.
Following a report commissioned by the HSA on the health effects of environmental tobacco smoke in the workplace, an outright ban on smoking in the workplace was introduced in March 2004. It is the employers’ responsibility to enforce the smoking ban in their workplace and to this end they are obliged to implement rules on workplace smoking, put a smoking policy in place and communicate both to staff. Any person found in breach of the ban is guilty of an offence and the employer of that workplace will also be held accountable.
10.Corporate responsibility towards the environment
The Waste Management Act 1996 regulates the holding, transport, recovery or disposal of waste. The Act contains a general duty not to hold, transport, recover or dispose of waste in a manner that causes, or is likely to cause, environmental pollution. A local authority may serve a notice on any person who is holding, recovering or disposing of waste, to prevent or limit environmental pollution caused, or likely to be caused, by it, and failure to comply with a notice amounts to an offence. Furthermore, the local authority has power to take direct action itself to secure compliance with the notice and can recover any expense thereby incurred from the person upon whom the notice was served. A local authority can also take direct action in relation to waste and recover the expense incurred from the person whose act or omission necessitated the steps to be taken. The Waste Management Act 1996 also prohibits the transfer of the control of waste to any person other than an ‘appropriate person’. If a person transfers the control of waste to another person in contravention of this, then title to the waste does not transfer to the transferee and the person transferring the waste will be deemed to be a holder of the waste, in addition to the transferee.
It is an offence under the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts 1977 to 1990 to ‘cause or permit’ the entry of polluting matter in waters. It is a defence to a prosecution for the accused to prove that he took all reasonable steps to prevent the entry to waters of polluting matters by providing, maintaining, using, operating and supervising facilities and by employing practices or methods of operation which were suitable for prevention. These Acts also provide for statutory civil liability whereby the polluter, or possibly a mere occupier of land, must compensate any person who suffered injury, loss or damage as a result. Under the Air Pollution Act 1987, it is the duty of an occupier of any premises other than a private dwelling to use the best practicable means to limit and, if possible, prevent emissions from such premises. It is an offence to cause or permit an emission in such quantity so as to be a nuisance.
Under the Water and Air Pollution legislation and the Waste Management Act, any director, manager, secretary, officer of the company or person purporting to act as such may be made personally liable for offences committed by the company. With regard to most of the offences outlined above, it will be a good defence that the actions were carried out in accordance with an integrated pollution control licence granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Certain large scale or complex industrial processes with significant polluting potential are required to have such a licence. Changes to the licensing system were required by the Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control Directive, implemented in Ireland on 12 July 2004: all licences issued will now have to be reviewed by the EPA in light of the implementing legislation (Protection of the Environment Act 2003). Any person carrying out a licensable activity in breach of legislation or, indeed, the terms of their licence, may be subject to prosecution by the EPA and liable for penalties on certain convictions ranging from €3,000 to €15 million.
Enforcement and implementation of environmental legislation is the remit of the Office of Environmental Enforcement, a division of the EPA. The EPA also co-ordinates environmental research and development and provides information and guidelines on obligations under environmental legislation; it also established the Emissions Trading Unit, which is responsible for implementing the Emissions Trading Directive.
Information on the Environment, a body established by DEHL in 1990, provides easy access to wide-ranging and authoritative information on the environment. IBEC also offers advice to its members in respect of their environmental policies, and in 1998 it published Striking a Balance – Environmental Policy for Economic Growth.
Packaging compliance is dealt with by Repak, a scheme established by voluntary agreement between industry and the DEHL. Repak is a not-for-profit members based organisation set up by industry in response to the obligations under waste packaging legislation, and offering a compliance service to business. It assumes responsibility for recovery and recycling of packaging waste from the household and commercial sectors. Industry, by taking responsibility for the packaging waste it generates, contributes significantly towards the achievement of the Irish national target for the collection, recovery and recycling of packaging waste.
Legislation has also been put in place which protects Irish wildlife and eco-systems. The Wildlife Act 1976 provides for the preservation of wildlife by the designation of nature reserves on land whether privately or publicly owned. Over 100 areas have been designated by the state as special protection areas where it is prohibited to release waste or any deleterious matter that would create pollution, deterioration of habitats or any disturbance affecting wildlife. Under European legislation further special areas of conservation have been designated by the state. It is an offence to carry out any activities likely to alter, damage, destroy or interfere with the integrity of such sites without ministerial consent or reasonable excuse.
11.Corporate responsibility to communities
The DCRG funds, and in some cases administers, programmes to support community development. IBEC is involved as a partner in many of these programmes and it encourages local enterprises to become involved in the schemes and contribute towards the main aim of social inclusion. Area Development Management Limited was incorporated by the Department to manage these projects. Examples are:
12.Corporate responsibility for overseas activities
No particular rules or guidelines apply to the conduct of overseas subsidiaries, affiliates contractors or suppliers.
13. Procurement
Rules on procurement only apply in Ireland to public bodies (including semi-state companies) and utilities (whether state-owned or not). Ireland has transposed into national law each of the European Directives issued in this area. Ireland’s commitment to ensuring adherence to public procurement principles is also evidenced by the Department of Finance’s work this year in revising the earlier 1994 public procurement guidelines in light of the proposed consolidation of the relevant European Directives. The Public Procurement Guidelines 2004 are to be welcomed, as they will also allow account to be taken of developments in the public procurement arena.
14.CSR reporting and socially responsible investing
Any donation made by business to an approved charitable body is deductible as a trading expense in the calculation of the company’s taxable income under Irish tax law. Companies are obliged under Irish law to file a directors’ responsibility statement as part of its annual accounts with the Companies Registration Office. Such reports are accessible by the public and for the most part deal with the financial affairs of the company. However, more recently directors have been obliged to include further information in their annual reports, as follows: æ health and safety legislation requires directors to include a statement evaluating the
extent to which the company’s health and safety policy was adhered to during the year; and æ as outlined above, new companies legislation will require certain company directors to assess the compliance of the company with all company law, tax law and any other relevant legislation that applies to it.
Apart from this, a minority of Irish companies also undertake voluntary reporting on CSR. In March 2001, BITCI established a Measurement and Reporting Initiative to support their member companies in examining the impact of their CSR activities and to assist them in reporting on those initiatives. The organisation further arranges ‘peer group meetings’ on a quarterly basis as part of the initiative to facilitate discussion of members’ experiences and CSR policies.
SOURCES
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The Irish Times 16 September 2004 , ‘We Will Pay for Carbon Emissions’.
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IBEC 14 November 2001, ‘International Expert Addresses Irish Business Leaders on Good Corporate Citizenship’.
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Mr Justice Nial Fennelly, Introduction to the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003.
An Garda Síochána, Annual Report 2003.
Siobhán Phelan ICLSA R.50:June 1996, ‘Ethics in Public Office Act 1995’.
Elaine Keane ICLSA R.79: November 2001, ‘Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2001’.
Elaine Keane ICLSA R.79: November 2001, ‘Standards in Public Office Act 2001’.
Department of Finance, The Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour, 9 September 2004.
Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, Annual Report 2003.
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Institute of Directors Centre for Corporate Governance at University College Dublin Annual Report to Academic Council, UCD for 2003.
IBEC, Corporate Governance and Conduct Guidelines.
Equality Authority, Annual Report 2003.
Equality Authority, Strategic Plan 2003-2005.
The Irish Times 30 October 2004, ‘Smurfit Fined €1m for Safety Breach’.
Law Society of Ireland, Regulatory Law: Professional Practice Guide, 2004.
EPA, Strategic Framework 2003-2006.
The Linkage Programme, Annual Report 2003.
The Law of Private Companies, 2nd edition (Thomas Courtney, 2002).
