Yesterday, 6th November, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment announced that the Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Bill 2024 passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas.
However, this does not mean that the Bill has been signed into law or commenced or that the features of the Bill are in place yet. It is however expected they will commence quickly and that the President is expected to sign the Bill into law shortly.
The Bill contains provisions amending the Companies Act 2014 relating to:
Corporate governance
Improvements will include procedural and legislative changes to the Act that arise primarily from practical problems that have arisen.
Company law enforcement and supervision
A significant development in the Bill is enriching the powers of the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA), the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) and the Companies Registration Office (CRO) by streamlining procedures, facilitating administrative efficiencies, and strengthening reporting requirements.
Company law administration
Administrative processes overseen by the Registrar of Companies are slated for enhancement to ensure the register remains suitably equipped as well as modernising certain administrative requirements for companies.
Corporate insolvency
The Bill seeks to enhance regulation with regard to receivership and proposes amendments to SCARP.
Beyond amendments to Companies Act 2014, the Bill also has enhancements to Industrial and Provident Act 1893, Registration of Business Names Act 1963, Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009 and Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011.
While the Act has been signed into law it does not mean it has been commenced, we await details of such.
The contents of this article are meant as a guide only and are not a substitute for professional advice. The author/s accept no responsibility for any action taken, or refrained from, as a result of the material contained in this document. Specific advice should be obtained before acting or refraining from acting, in connection with the matters dealt with in this article. The information at the time of publishing was accurate and could be subject to final changes.
