Matheson

Executive Summary ■ The Irish Government recently published a policy document in relation to data centre development (the “Policy Document”), highlighting that data centres play an “indispensable role” in the Irish economy and society and identified various ‘principles’ to ensure that data centre infrastructure can be accommodated. ■ Separately, to support the achievement of Ireland’s […]

Thursday last saw the publication of the long awaited Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022 (“IAF Bill“) which, when enacted, will introduce the Individual Accountability Framework and the associated Senior Executive Accountability Regime (“SEAR“). The IAF Bill can be found on the Oireachtas’ website. The legislation has been welcomed by the Central Bank of Ireland, see […]

The provision of free legal services by lawyers and law firms to those who cannot otherwise afford legal representation and to organisations that support such individuals has been a long-standing feature of the Irish legal landscape. And that activity has been increasing, according to Niamh Counihan, Matheson’s pro bono partner and director of legal and regulatory […]

The Central Bank of Ireland (“Central Bank”) has updated its guidance on how pre-contractual disclosures required under the Taxonomy Regulation are to be addressed in the period until 1 January 2023, when detailed requirements set out in regulatory technical standards (“RTS”) will apply.  In updating its guidance, the Central Bank has taken into account the […]

Disruption caused by the advance of tech has been a source of concern and opportunity for both employers and employees Ivailo Kalfin is the executive director of the Eurofound Foundation, which was established in 1975 to improve the living and working conditions of workers in the European Union. As such, he is well placed to […]

On 25 May 2022, the European Supervisory Authorities (“ESAs“) published the European Commission’s (“Commission“) responses to their questions related to the implementation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR“) and Taxonomy Regulation. The Commission’s statements in relation to: the consideration of principal adverse impacts at product level; what brings Article 8 SFDR funds within scope […]

What Drives the Gender Pay Gap? Lessons from the Uber Study As detailed in our recent article, gender pay gap (“GPG“) reporting requirements for employers with 250+ employees will finally become a reality in 2022. While the regulations to the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 remain outstanding, despite the imminent “snapshot” date of June 2022 […]

European Commission Publishes New Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and Guidelines Introduction On 10 May 2022, the European Commission adopted the new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (“VBER”), along with the new Guidelines on Vertical Restraints (the “Guidelines”) following an evaluation and review of the current rules.  The expectation is that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission […]

Ireland’s investment limited partnership (ILP) is becoming investment managers’ fund vehicle of choice where tax transparency is required. Managing Ireland’s reverse hybrid rule (RHR) is a key consideration in choosing the ILP. The RHR has been in force for almost six months and its key features are highlighted in this article. Read more

The European Data Protection Board (‘EDPB’) recently published draft Guidelines (‘the Guidelines’) on the right of access, bringing some clarity to several operational aspects of responding to access requests. Whilst the Guidelines are informative, they raise the bar in regard to what is expected of controllers. In particular, the EDPB’s rejection of any proportionality limit with […]

Central Bank Notice of Intention regarding upcoming changes following enactment of the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Retail Credit and Credit Servicing Firms) Bill 2021 On 29 March 2022, the Central Bank of Ireland (the “Central Bank”) published a Notice of IntentionOpens in new window regarding upcoming changes which will take effect once the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Retail […]

In a recent tax appeals case, a taxpayer successfully challenged an assessment raised by Irish Revenue for capital gains tax arising from a disposal of shares in a Maltese tax resident company. In upholding the taxpayer’s challenge, the Irish Tax Appeal Commission (the “TAC”) once again demonstrated its ability to determine legal arguments that go […]

On 16 February the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (the “Minister)” announced the publicationOpens in new window of the General Scheme of the Regulation of Lobbying (Amendment) Bill (the “General Scheme”).  The General Scheme sets out a series of proposed reforms to the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 (the “2015 Act”). The 2015 Act sets out […]

In Lee v Revenue Commissioners, the Court of Appeal delivered an important judgment on the jurisdiction of the Tax Appeal Commission (“TAC”) in tax disputes.[1] In a recent follow on costs judgment, the Court once again offered a number of instructive comments on the TAC’s jurisdiction, while noting the potential consequences for taxpayers that fail to choose […]

We wrote on the Crowdfunding RegulationOpens in new window when it was first published in late 2020 and also when it began to apply in November 2021. The Crowdfunding Regulation covers investment-based crowdfunding and peer-to-peer/loan based crowdfunding. The new framework requires in-scope crowdfunding service providers (i.e. a legal person established within the European Union as defined in the Crowdfunding RegulationOpens in new […]

The term “Metaverse” has rocketed from obscurity to the top of newsfeeds around the world in recent weeks. Up until now, the concept has only been found in the R&D departments of large technology companies. However, this is starting to change as more companies are launching associated products and services to the market. But what […]

InDisputes Series: The Cost of the Kitchen Sink That there was a VAT fraud in the supply chain on the purchase of fuel for his filling stations.  Mr. Byrne could not therefore set off the VAT paid by him for the fuel supplies.  Mr. Byrne had appealed the TAC finding to the High Court by […]

  Recent enforcement action conducted by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“CCPC”) and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (“FSAI”) provides an insight into the dynamic future of unannounced regulatory inspections (or “dawn raids”) in Ireland. It is reported that on 2 November 2021, two properties in Donegal were inspected by personnel from the […]

The last 18 months have been all about Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, which together have continued to dominate discussions about the future of the economy and society generally. Although Covid-19 is by no means a thing of the past, there are good reasons to hope that 2022 will allow us to return, in a […]

In 2021 cyber threats have been trending to increased ransomware attacks, commodity malware and heightened Dark Web enablement.  INTERPOL reported that the projected worldwide financial loss to cyber crime for 2021 is $6 trillion, twice as much as in 2015, with damages set to cost the global economy $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Globally, leading […]

The country has been a centre of excellence for aviation financing, and now it is leading the way in aviation-related multijurisdictional restructurings, writes Irish law firm Matheson. There are a number of well-known reasons why Ireland continues to attract investment in aviation: its favourable tax regime; a wide double tax treaty network; ease of access […]

AUTHORS: Garret Farrelly, Nicola Dunleavy CO-AUTHOR(S): Conor Blennerhassett, Sean Scally, Owen Collins, Chelsey O’Doherty SERVICES: Energy, Natural Resources and Utilities, Projects and Infrastructure, ESG DATE: 06/07/2021 Key Points on the Maritime Area Planning Bill and National Marine Planning Framework On 30 June 2021, the Irish government published a pre-initiation draft of the Maritime Area Planning (“MAP”) Bill 2021 (the “Bill”) and also launched the National […]

AUTHORS: Deirdre Crowley, Michael Byrne CO-AUTHOR(S): Emmet Byrne SERVICES: Technology and Innovation, Data Protection, Privacy and Cyber-security DATE: 05/10/2021 The threat of a cyber-attack has never been greater. In the last number of months, the healthcare system in Ireland was subject to two high-profile attacks, whilst a major US fuel pipeline was taken offline following a cyber-security incident, generating headlines around […]