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The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) is consulting on amendments to the Companies Act 2014 that would replace public disclosure of directors' and secretaries' residential addresses with a "contact address".
These proposals are a welcome development, addressing privacy and safety concerns and aligning the approach in Ireland with that of other common law jurisdictions.
Current position
Under the Companies Act 2014, companies must keep a Register of Directors and Secretaries that includes each officer's usual residential address. This address is also filed with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) and is publicly available on the CRO register.
A limited exemption allows use of the company's registered office address on the public record in specific (typically safety-related) cases, on application supported by An Garda Síochána.
Proposed amendments
It is proposed that:
- Directors and individual secretaries could provide a "contact address" for publication instead of their residential address.
- The contact address may be the person's residential address, the company's registered office, or another address prescribed by the Minister. It must be an address in the State and effective for service on the officer.
- Going forward, the "contact address" would be the only address published on the company's Register of Directors and Secretaries (and Register of Members where applicable) and on the CRO Register.
- Companies and the CRO would continue to hold the usual residential address, but access would be restricted to entities prescribed by the Minister for enforcement, regulatory and judicial purposes. A court could order disclosure where service at the contact address is ineffective.
- The changes would not be retrospective. Residential addresses already on historic CRO filings would remain visible on those prior records.
Timing
The consultation closes on 19 December 2025.
Changes would take effect through primary legislation.
Public consultation on proposed changes to the Companies Act 2014 and related legislation – DETE
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
