The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has completed its review of China Bond Connect and on 21 March 2019 sent a letter to Irish Funds confirming it has no objection to Irish UCITS and AIFs using Bond Connect. The same safekeeping requirements as China Stock Connect will apply.
Asset Management & Investment FundsOn 4 March 2019, Minister Richard Bruton TD announced that he will introduce an Online Safety Act to regulate harmful content online and ensure children are safe online. The Act will also implement the revised Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive (which Member States are required to implement by 19 September 2020). The Minister stated that the era of self-regulation in regard to online...
TechnologyThe Data Protection Commission (DPC) has published the results of the annual Global Privacy Sweep for 2018, which examined how well organisations are implementing the concept of accountability. The Global Privacy Enforcement Network members made contact with 356 organisations in 18 countries during the Sweep. It found that while there were examples of good practice reported, a number of organi...
TechnologyThe Council of the European Union recently voted unanimously to object to the Commission's delegated act identifying high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies for the purposes of the money laundering directives (4MLD and 5MLD). The proposed act includes countries such as Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands on the list of high-risk third countries for the first time. In a strongl...
Disputes2018 saw 98 notifications of mergers and acquisitions to Ireland's Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). This was an increase of 36% in terms of the number of notifications over the number notified in 2017. The number of notifications in 2018 equalled the highest number of notifications on record for either the CCPC or, its predecessor, the Competition Authority.
EU, Competition & ProcurementPresident Michael D Higgins had signed the "Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2019" into law.
BrexitNew immigration arrangements have been heralded by the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation (the Minister) as a "small change" but one which will make a "big difference" in attracting international talent.
EmploymentAt the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019 there were a number of proposed updates to the PRIIPs regulations. The net result is that a comprehensive review of the PRIIPs Delegated Regulation will take place in 2019. You can read a summary of the recent developments, including those related to the exemption for UCITS, and proposed next steps in this publication.
Asset Management & Investment FundsThis publication contains a summary of the EU Regulation on Packaged Retain and Insurance-based Investment Products (EU 1286/2014) the PRIIPs Regulation which was effective on 1 January 2018.
Asset Management & Investment FundsThe procurement process has commenced for an opportunity for up to 140MW of new high availability technology (envisaged to primarily comprise battery storage) to be contracted with EirGrid by September 2019. PQQ process now open for
Energy & Natural ResourcesWe always said that the Brexit negotiations would go to the wire despite there being a two-year timeline. The Strasbourg meeting on the night of Monday, 11 March, when the UK and the EU tabled various documents may or may not be enough to get the House of Commons to approve the draft Withdrawal Agreement. The EU documents are available here while the UK ones are available here. There was just...
BrexitIf at first you don't succeed…dismiss again? A recent application before the High Court to prevent the dismissal of a senior employee, fired for allegedly making an offensive comment to a female co-worker, captured the media's attention.
Employment
