Work of the Company Law (Projects) Unit

Our Work

The Unit is involved in the formulation of legislative proposals through to their enactment. This includes negotiation with the relevant industry and regulatory bodies and the drafting of legislation on company law matters relating to financial services.

The Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2005(No.12 of 2005) was signed into law on 29^th June, 2005.

Five related Statutory Instruments have been made since the Act was signed into law. The first of these is the first Commencement Order for certain Parts and sections of the Act. This Order is the Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2005 (Commencement) Order 2005 - S.I. No. 323 of 2005.

The second of these Statutory Instruments is the Companies Act, 1990 (Prescribed Alternative Accounting Standards Bodies) Regulations 2005 – S.I. No. 382 of 2005. These Regulations prescribe bodies that may set accounting standards with which Investment Companies may comply. This was provided for in Section 260A of the Companies Act 1990 as inserted by 28 of the Investment funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2005.

The third Statutory Instrument is the Companies Act, 1990 (Uncertificated Securities) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 - S.I. No. 693 of 2005. These Regulations amend the Companies Act, 1990 (Uncertificated Securities) Regulations, 1996 - S.I. No. 68 of 1996, in order to facilitate the introduction of a Central Counterparty (CCP) system for the Irish securities market.

The fourth Statutory Instrument is the second Commencement Order for certain sections of the Act. This Order is the Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2005 (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2005 - S.I. No. 695 of 2005.

The fifth Statutory Instrument is the European Communities (Adjustment of Non-Comparable Amounts in Accounts and Distributions by Certain Investment Companies) Regulations 2005 - S.I. No. 840 of 2005. These Regulations make amendments to the Companies Acts 1963-2005, consequential on changes in accounting practice for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2005. Similar changes are also made for Credit Institutions and Insurance Companies.

UCITS - (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities)

The Financial Regulator has been designated in the Regulations as the competent authority with responsibility for the authorisation and supervision of UCITS. More details regarding UCITS.