Ireland: company law reform - Companies Bill 2012 published

The reform of company law in Ireland moves closer following work begun by the Company Law Review Group. Earlier today a copy of the Companies Bill 2012 as introduced in the Dáil Éireann was published: see here (pdf, 8.8MB) or, separately, Parts 1 to 15 (pdf, 6.7MB) and Parts 16 to 24 (pdf, 2MB). An explanatory memorandum is available here (pdf, 1.5MB) and a much shorter press release, highlighting some of the changes being implemented, is available here. The Bill's progress can be followed here.

The Bill consolidates the existing 16 Companies Acts, dating from 1963 to 2012, into a single Act as well as introducing reforms including the codification of directors' duties, permitting a private company limited by shares to be formed with one director and in certain contexts removing the requirement for court approval. According to the press release published by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the Bill is the "largest substantive piece of legislation in the history of the State".