Agenda Articles

The European Commission’s Digital Omnibus Package (published on 19 November 2025) proposes several amendments to the GDPR designed to reduce barriers to innovation in the field of scientific research.

Making predictions about the future trajectory of M&A markets is always fraught with difficulty. Globally, deal advisers report a healthy pipeline of potential transactions to come, but there can be no guarantee that dealmakers will not turn the tap off once again.

The Government’s Summer 2026 Legislation Programme was published on 14 April 2026 setting out an ambitious programme of laws to be progressed during the Dáil and Seanad’s 13‑week summer session.

The Omnibus 1 Directive (EU) 2026/470 (Omnibus 1 Directive) was published in the Official Journal on 26 February 2026.

On 18 March 2026, the European Commission presented its proposal for "EU Inc". This proposal is part of the Commission's drive to improve the EU's competitiveness, avoid losing ground to the U.S., China and other markets and to make it easier for companies to scale up faster in Europe.

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.

In December 2025, the question of whether a company director or secretary can opt to have a contact address instead of their residential address made publicly available by the Companies Registration Office (CRO) was the subject of a public consultation by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE).

At a glance for businesses: The European Commission’s 2030 Consumer Agenda (published on 19 November 2025) (the “Agenda”) sets the direction of EU consumer policy for the next five years, with potential implications for digital platforms, retailers, financial institutions and manufacturers.

On 6 January 2025, the Screening of Third Country Transactions Act 2023 (“Act”) entered into full force in Ireland, resulting in a new regime requiring mandatory screening of qualifying acquisitions of Irish target assets or undertakings for national security and public order concerns.