Business Law and Corporate Law

The Listing Act Directive introduces significant reforms to the MiFID II research regime, allowing investment firms greater flexibility in paying for research and execution services. This briefing examines how the removal of market capitalisation thresholds restores bundling as a commercial option and establishes a new EU framework for issuer-sponsored research.

The European Union has published revised sustainability reporting standards and introduced a voluntary framework that fundamentally changes how companies approach CSRD compliance. These reforms reduce reporting complexity through fewer datapoints and introduce value chain caps that limit information requests from smaller businesses. Understanding these changes is critical for both mandatory reporters and voluntary participants as implementation deadlines approach in 2026 and 2027.

The Central Bank of Ireland's thematic assessment of the Fitness and Probity regime within the MiFID investment firm sector reveals critical gaps in governance documentation and evidence. Firms are struggling to demonstrate adequate due diligence processes, policy implementation, and Management Responsibility Map compliance. Can your organization withstand regulatory scrutiny of its F&P framework?

Corporate governance encompasses the internal policies and procedures that control, direct, and manage corporate entities, serving to protect and enhance a business's most valuable asset - its name and reputation. This framework includes legally mandated requirements, voluntary best practices, and strategic measures that span from accurate financial record-keeping to board management and director training.

As a continuation of Part 2 in this series, which addressed some themes we commonly encounter relating to the process requirements of public inquiries and the handling of documentary evidence in particular...

Regulations introduced in 2025 impose new board gender balance obligations on many Irish companies listed on certain EU markets, with gender balance targets for both executive directors and non-executive directors (“NEDs”) to be achieved by 30 June 2026.

The European Commission's proposed overhaul of the SFDR regime is entering crucial trialogue negotiations, with the Irish Presidency aiming to reach agreement by year-end. While the Council and Parliament have aligned on key issues like professional investor opt-outs, significant divergences remain on exclusion criteria for Transition funds, PAI reporting requirements, and engagement strategy disclosures that will shape the future of sustainable finance regulation.

From September 2026, businesses making environmental claims in Ireland will face heightened regulatory scrutiny under new EU-transposed legislation designed to combat greenwashing. The regulations introduce specific offences for misleading sustainability claims and grant the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission expanded enforcement powers, including criminal penalties of up to EUR100,000 and imprisonment for non-compliance.

On 18 September 2026, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage published a package of draft regulations intended to support commencement of the remaining provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2024.

Regulations introduced in 2025 impose new board gender balance obligations on many Irish companies listed on certain EU markets, with gender balance targets for both executive directors and non-executive directors (“NEDs”) to be achieved by 30 June 2026.

On 20 April 2026, the Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) published a feedback report on the review it carried out last year on a cohort of Irish fund management companies on board effectiveness through the lens...

The Central Bank of Ireland (“Central Bank”) has published its findings from a review of board effectiveness through the lens of diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) in the fund management company (“FMC”) sector — the first standalone D&I review conducted in this sector. The Central Bank’s overall assessment is that, while some positive practices were identified, more work needs to be done to enhance board effectiveness through the lens of D&I, with issues identified in governance processes across all firms reviewed and varying levels of understanding of D&I leading to uneven embedding of D&I across those governance processes.