Under Irish law, the responsibility to manage the business and affairs of a company is entrusted to its directors. This legal relationship can, in certain circumstances, expose directors to personal legal risk. In this briefing, we review a number of key UK and Irish decisions from the past year, each relevant to the potential personal liability, restriction, or disqualification of directors in Ireland.

Ireland’s third National Risk Assessment (“NRA”) was recently published by the Department of Finance (“DoF”).

A recent High Court case has illustrated the powers the courts have under the Companies Acts to make directors personally responsible for the actions of a commercial organisation in failing to abide by a court order and the limits of that power.

The Supreme Court has refused to grant John Delaney leave to appeal the 2023 judgment of the Court of Appeal.

The High Court has recently pierced the corporate veil to make directors and shadow directors personally liable for the fraud of a company.

With effect from 23 April 2023, the Companies Registration Office (“CRO”) will require that all company directors of Irish companies provide either their Personal Public Service number (“PPSN”) or a Verified Identity number (“VIN”) when filing the following forms with their offices

The Irish High Court (Court) has pierced the corporate veil in Powers v Greymountain Management Ltd [In Liquidation] & Ors [2022] IEHC 599, to hold passive resident directors and non-resident shadow directors personally liable for funds lost to investors as a result of fraud.

The Irish Screening of Third Country Transactions Act 2023 (the Act) entered into force on 6 January 2025, introducing mandatory notification and pre-clearance for in scope transactions.

In November 2024, The Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) published Guidance on its expectations for applicants seeking authorisation from the Central Bank to operate as a regulated firm (Cross Sectoral Guidance).