The directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable Irish law and regulations.
Company law in Ireland requires the
directors to prepare financial statements for
each financial year. Under that law the
directors have to prepare financial
statements in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards as adopted
by the European Union (IFRSs). The financial
statements are required by law to give a true
and fair view of the state of affairs of the
Group and parent company and of the profit
or loss of the Group for that period.
In preparing those financial statements,
the directors are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- make judgements and estimates that are
reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable IFRSs have been
followed, subject to any material
departures disclosed and explained in
the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the
going concern basis unless it is
inappropriate to presume that the
Company, and the Group as a whole,
will continue in business.
The directors are responsible for keeping
proper accounting records which disclose
with reasonable accuracy at any time the
financial position of the Company and which
enable them to ensure that the financial
statements are prepared in accordance with
accounting standards generally accepted in
Ireland, and comply with the Companies
Acts 1963 to 2009 and Article 4 of the IAS
Regulation.
They are responsible for safeguarding the
assets of the Group and hence for taking
reasonable steps for the prevention and
detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In so far as each of the directors is aware:
- there is no relevant audit information of
which the Company's auditors are
unaware; and
- the directors have taken all steps that they
ought to have taken to make themselves
aware of any relevant audit information
and to establish that the auditors are
aware of that information.
The directors are responsible for the
maintenance and integrity of the corporate
and financial information on the Company’s
website. Legislation in the Republic of
Ireland governing the preparation and
dissemination of financial statements may
differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
In accordance with Transparency (Directive
2004/109/EC) Regulations, we confirm that
to the best of our knowledge:
- the financial statements, prepared in
accordance with the applicable set of
accounting standards, give a true and
fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial
position and profit or loss of the Company
and the undertakings included in the
consolidation taken as a whole; and
- the management report includes a fair
review of the development and
performance of the business and the
position of the Company and the
undertakings included in the consolidation
taken as a whole, together with a
description of the principal risks and
uncertainties that they face.
By order of the Board
Gene Murtagh
Chief Executive Officer
Dermot Mulvihill
Group Finance Director
1 March 2010