"Right to be Forgotten": commencement of key provisions
The key provisions of the Insurance (Disregard of Certain Medical History and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026, the "Right to be Forgotten" legislation, providing for a statutory right to disregard cancer-related medical history when individuals apply for mortgage protection insurance, will come into operation on 15 October 2026.
The October commencement date for the key provisions is intended to facilitate a smooth transition from the existing Voluntary Code to the new statutory framework, giving the industry time to update their systems, processes and customer documentation.
The Act also includes technical amendments to the Insurance Acts 1936 and 1964 relating to the winding-up of insurers and reinsurers, and to the operation of a sub-fund of the Insurance Compensation Fund and other related payments into that sub-fund. These provisions came into operation on 26 August 2026.
ESAP implementation
In December 2023, the ESAP Regulation (EU) 2023/2859 was adopted, establishing a European Single Access Point (ESAP) providing centralised access to publicly available information of relevance to financial services, capital markets and sustainability. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is responsible for establishing and operating ESAP. The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) confirmed that, following a communication from ESMA, the collection of ESAP metadata in connection with Prospectus Regulation filings has been postponed until mid-Q1 2027.
Separately, the CBI is developing new filing portals to facilitate the submission of prospectus-related documents and the associated ESAP metadata. The amended Final Terms Portal and new Other Filings and Prospectus Portals are expected to launch in early 2027. Once operational, prospectus-related documents and metadata will be submitted through the relevant portal rather than by email.
The collection of prescribed metadata by national competent authorities forms a key component of the ESAP framework and is intended to enhance the discoverability and accessibility of information across EU capital markets. Issuers and advisers should prepare for the introduction of ESAP metadata submission requirements from mid-Q1 2027 and the transition to portal-based filing once the new CBI portals become operational.
Helpfully, the CBI has confirmed that they will not require submitters to provide any retrospective (back-reporting) of ESAP metadata during the interim period from 10 July 2026 to the go live date.
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.
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