- within Law Department Performance and Antitrust/Competition Law topic(s)
PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES (EMPLOYERS' INSOLVENCY) (AMENDMENT) ACT 2026
The Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Act 2026 was signed into law on 30 March 2026. Certain provisions were commenced with effect from 5 May 2026, as noted in our previous update, with further provisions commenced on 8 June 2026 (PDF 137KB). The remaining provisions will come into operation on dates to be appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.
CRO TO PUBLISH QUARTERLY STATISTICS
The CRO has announced that it will publish quarterly statistics on key stages in the company lifecycle including incorporations, restructurings, liquidations and strike-offs. Statistics for Q1 2026 are available on the CRO website.
GENDER PAY GAP PORTAL
Since 2025, employers with 50 or more employees have been within scope of gender pay gap reporting in Ireland. The Gender Pay Gap Portal was launched in November 2025, enabling in-scope employers to upload their gender pay gap reports on a voluntary basis. Information uploaded to the Portal has now been made publicly available. Submission of gender pay gap reports to the Portal will become mandatory for in-scope employers from November 2026. For more details, please see the briefing from our Employment Group: Gender Pay Gap Portal now publicly available.
IRISH PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU 2026
Ireland published its Programme for the Presidency of the Council of the EU (1 July 2026 – 31 December 2026).
“Competitiveness” is a central pillar of the Irish Presidency. One of the key building blocks is simplifying rules, which is characterised as better regulation, not deregulation.
From a corporate law perspective, key priorities for the Irish Presidency include:
- EU Inc.: supporting the development of an innovation-friendly 28th Regime, EU Inc..
- Regulatory simplification: reducing unnecessary administrative burdens through prioritisation of the omnibus simplification packages.
- Trade policy: EU-US relationship: seeking to build a more ambitious and mutually beneficial EU–US trade and investment relationship, in line with the EU–US Joint Statement, with further cooperation on supply chains and critical sectors and technologies.
INTRODUCTION OF SIMPLIFIED RULES FOR SMALL MID-CAP COMPANIES
The EU has provisionally agreed rules creating a new company category, small mid-cap enterprises (SMCs) (up to 1,000 employees and up to €200 million turnover/€172 million total assets), to bridge the gap between SMEs and large companies and avoid a sharp increase in regulatory burden when SMEs scale up. The rules are part of the Omnibus IV package originally announced in May 2025.
SMCs will benefit from a range of existing SME exemptions and simplifications across key regimes (including the EU Prospectus Regulation, allowing SMCs to access SME growth markets and benefit from simpler prospectus disclosure rules), reducing compliance costs and supporting access to capital markets.
The agreement is provisional and awaits formal adoption; once adopted and published, the regulation will apply after 20 days and Member States will have 15 months to transpose the directive into national law.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
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