In line with international and European developments, Ireland has introduced a new regime to provide for a process to allow for certain transactions that may present risks to the security or public order of the State to be reviewed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The legal framework for the regime is contained in the Screening of Third Country Transactions Act 2023, which came into force by Ministerial Order on 6 January 2025.
The obligation to notify applies to all parties to a notifiable transaction (except for any party that is unaware of the transaction). The Act provides for a process under which a party to a notifiable transaction can consent to another party notifying on its behalf. The Minster may, having made a screening decision that a transaction affects or would likely affect the security or public order of the State, impose conditions for approval. While neither the filing or the outcome is published, the Minister, in considering whether or not the transaction affects or is likely to affect the security or public order of the State, may consult any other person the Minister considers appropriate and may enter into discussions with the parties to the transaction or with any other person with a view to identifying measures that would ameliorate any effects of the transaction on the security or public order of the State. The Act exempts purely intra-group transactions, i.e. if the same undertaking controls, directly or indirectly, all the parties to the transaction, the mandatory notification will not be triggered.
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