Before he was elected President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins was an active Labour politician and served as a member of the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on Human Rights. In 2008, the Sub-Committee devoted some attention to the role of the private sector in relation to human rights. Michael D. Higgins was somewhat pessimistic in his views, remarking during the session on the absence of notable progress in this area:

I am at a loss to identify any great achievements of the ethical globalisation movement, to which reference has been made. It reminds me uncomfortably — perhaps I am wrong — of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, which I encountered for the first time when it was present at the United Nations conference on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro. The council had no difficulty in signing up to the concept of sustainability. The chair was the vice…