Corporate Enforcement Authority - Ireland

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  • Company Address:

    Corporate Enforcement Authority
    16 Parnell Square
    Dublin 1
    D01 W5C2
    Ireland

    +35318585800
    info@cea.gov.ie

    The Corporate Enforcement Authority (“CEA”) is Ireland’s company law enforcement agency. Its mission is:

    “To promote and serve the public interest by ensuring high levels of compliance with company law  through effective advocacy and proportionate, robust and dissuasive enforcement”.

    Statutory mandate

    Established in 2022, the CEA’s statutory mandate derives principally from the Companies Act 2014. The CEA has also been conferred with statutory functions in respect of certain investment vehicles under the Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles Act 2015.

    The CEA’s primary functions are to:

    • promote compliance with the Companies Act 2014,
    • supervise the activities of liquidators and to assess the behaviour of insolvent companies’ directors and take associated enforcement action,
    • investigate instances of suspected breaches of company law and, as appropriate:
    • take civil enforcement action (including issuing warnings, requiring that steps be taken to bring about compliance with company law and making applications to the High Court as necessary)
    • take summary prosecutions in the CEA’s own name,
    • refer matters to the Director of Public Prosecutions (“DPP”) for consideration as to whether charges should be directed on indictment
  • Scope of Role:

    Compliance

    One of the important functions of the CEA is to encourage compliance with the requirements of the Companies Acts. The CEA discharges this role by communicating publicly the benefits of compliance with the law and the consequences of non-compliance. The strategies employed include:

    • public presentations on, for example, the CEA itself, and its powers and functions;
    • the publication of information, via the printed and electronic media, on the legal duties and powers which exist under Irish company law;
    • consultations with professional bodies and other stakeholders to increase awareness among, and ensure the compliance of their members with the requirements of the law;
    • discussions with Government and other parties as required to facilitate and support the compliance role of the CEA.

    Enforcement
    The investigative and enforcement function of the CEA is quite extensive.  Its main legal powers arise in the following areas: 

    • the initiation of fact-finding company investigations;
    • the prosecution of persons for suspected breaches of the Companies Act 2014;
    • the supervision of companies in official and voluntary liquidation and of unliquidated insolvent companies;
    • the restriction and disqualification of directors and other company officers;
    • the supervision of liquidators and receivers and
    • the regulation of undischarged bankrupts acting as company officers.

     

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