Ireland: the Combined Code - compliance and disclosure

Grant Thornton Ireland has published its 2010 Corporate Governance Review: see here (pdf). The report examines compliance with the UK Combined Code on Corporate Governance by companies having their ordinary shares listed on the main market of the Irish Stock Exchange. Such companies are required under the Exchange's Listing Rules (chapter 6) to state whether they have complied with the Code and, if not, to explain why.

The report notes a decline in the proportion of companies claiming full compliance with the Code (down from 51% to 36%) but notes an improvement in the quality of disclosure provided by companies in respect of non-compliance. This said, the report identifies many areas where improvements in disclosure are needed. A summary of the report is available here.

The 2009 report is available here (pdf).

Ireland: ISE chief executive calls for radical change in corporate governance

The Financial Times newspaper reports that the chief executive of the Irish Stock Exchange, Deirdre Somers, has called for radical changes in corporate governance, observing that Ireland has for too long accepted companies being run as "personal fiefdoms" with "opaque" appointments to some company boards.