Ireland: Corporate/Commercial Law

The EU's new ESG Ratings Regulation creates significant compliance obligations for fund managers who use, reference, or communicate ESG ratings to investors. Understanding how to distinguish between internal ESG assessment tools and regulated ESG ratings, verify provider authorization status, and update investor-facing materials with required disclosures is now essential for AIFMs and UCITS management companies operating in the European market.

The Irish Government has published the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026, establishing a comprehensive framework for supervising and enforcing the EU AI Act in Ireland. This legislation creates the AI Office of Ireland as an independent statutory body to coordinate AI regulation, introduces a distributed oversight model involving multiple sectoral authorities, and provides detailed procedures for adjudication and administrative sanctions. The Bill addresses critical questions about how Ireland

This monthly legal update from William Fry explores critical developments across technology regulation, AI transparency obligations, and commercial litigation frameworks. The edition examines emerging challenges in data centre connectivity, merger control threshold changes, and the evolving landscape of warranty insurance in M&A transactions, while addressing novel legal arguments in nervous shock claims and regulatory consultations on crypto-asset markets.