Ireland: Compliance

The European Commission's draft guidelines on classifying high-risk AI systems under the AI Act have significant implications for financial services providers, particularly those using AI for creditworthiness assessments...

This monthly legal update from William Fry curates essential articles spanning technology transformation, foreign investment screening, product liability rulings, AI regulation developments, pension scheme complaints, building energy performance changes, insurance recovery frameworks, MiFID compliance expectations, and environmental assessment requirements.

The European Union's Product Liability Directive, unchanged for four decades, is undergoing a comprehensive transformation to address modern challenges including digital products, AI systems, and global supply chains.

Dr Barry Scannell and tech entrepreneur Sean Blanchfield explore the transformative shift from AI copilots to autonomous agentic AI systems that are already functioning as digital workers within organisations. The discussion delves into how these AI agents are reviewing contracts, monitoring compliance, managing projects, and writing software, while examining the critical implications for governance, security, data protection, and the future of professional work.

The Central Bank of Ireland has published findings from its thematic assessment of MiFID Investment Firms' compliance functions, identifying critical weaknesses in succession planning, training programmes, monitoring effectiveness, and board documentation. Firms must now conduct comprehensive self-assessments against Article 22 of the MiFID II Delegated Regulation and ESMA Guidelines, addressing any gaps through proactive remediation while ensuring their compliance functions support consumer protection stan

The EU Listing Act introduces significant reforms to the Market Abuse Regulation, fundamentally changing how issuers assess disclosure obligations for protracted processes and delayed announcements. These changes, effective from June 2026, shift the analytical framework from intermediate step disclosure to final event triggers, while introducing a revised test for delaying disclosure that replaces the previous "not misleading" standard with an objective benchmark linked to prior public communications.

The annual deadline for employers and trustees to report share scheme activity to Revenue is fast approaching. All share scheme transactions during 2025 must be reported by 31 March 2026.

Following trilogue negotiations, the EU Commission, Council, and Parliament have reached an agreement (subject to final approval)...

In today's increasingly complex regulatory and operating environment, clarity around the roles and responsibilities of those leading the organisation are essential. Yet the terminology used in legislation and regulations...