Philip Andrews SC, Chair, and Eleanor Daly, past Chair

The Business Law Committee represents, informs, and assists the profession on business-related legal topics, and reviews practical issues arising for solicitors in corporate and commercial practice.

During the past year, the committee was very active with a number of submissions, including our response to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission s public consultation on competition adjudication rules and guidelines at the end of the year, as well as our response to the Department of Enterprise’s public consultation on proposed changes to the Companies Act 2014 and related legislation on the topic of directors’ addresses.

Throughout the year, we continued to pursue external engagement, including with the Company Law Review Group and Companies Registration Office (CRO) forums via our representatives on both bodies, and with the Central Bank, including:

• Engagement with the Central Bank relating to their Fitness and Probity Approval Process (throughout April 2025),
• Engagement with the CRO on a change in their approach related to limited partnership filings, most recently in October 2025 and continuing into 2026,
• Continued engagement with the CCBE Company Law Committee on consultations relating to EU company law proposals,
• Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment on investment screening/screening of third countries’ transactions throughout the year.

We updated our practice note on nominee and trust arrangements in employee and executive share option or participation schemes in Ireland in November 2025, and worked throughout the year on a revised practice note on section 19 of the Criminal Justice Act 2011 (on mandatory reporting of white-collar crime).

We hosted our Annual Business Law Conference in November 2025. The conference provided key insights on (a) pro-competitive business law reform and promoting investment from both an Irish and EU perspective (addressing such topics as the proposed new 28^th Company Law Regime and the Draghi Report), (b) the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and (c) developments in anti-money-laundering guidance (including in relation to the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010).

I am truly grateful to the committee’s vice-chair, Justin McKenna, and outgoing committee secretary Claire McGee for their fine work and commitment. I wish to thank all members of the committee for their generosity in sharing their expertise and experience with the profession, and for the time they have dedicated to the committee. Members have devoted countless hours to researching issues, preparing submissions and presentations for the annual conference, dealing with matters in subcommittees, and liaising with external bodies, colleagues, and stakeholders on behalf of the profession.