Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the statement made today by the Chief Justice with regard to the need for ethics in corporate governance. It is welcome and I ask the Leader to consider having a debate on the matter. We can all see the difficulties, and ongoing revelations in the newspapers show the dearth of ethics particularly in the banking sector, although this also applies in other sectors of business. I do not necessarily agree it is either-or when it comes to ethics and profit. The directors and employees of companies have an obligation to shareholders and their returns, because this is what drives the engine of the economy and a business.

Companies also have a responsibility to their employees, the customers without whom they would not be able to operate successfully, and the wider community. Often this is relegated to almost insignificance. Morality and ethics are fundamental to any operation, including politics and the administration of our public services to ensure we do not waste taxpayers' money. In the Houses in the coming days we will face a challenge as to where we stand on ethics and morality with regard to the abortion legislation which is fundamental to human life. Businesses and politicians face challenges and if we reflect and think about this it will do us good. I very much welcome the statements by Catholic Church leaders in recent weeks regarding the legislation. They did this knowing they would be criticised by anti-Catholic bigots, and of course this will happen, but the courage they have shown sets an example for us-----