Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last week, the Minister for Finance signed a statutory instrument that repeals public access to the register of beneficial owners. That followed a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling last year that struck down the right to public access to the register of public ownership. This is a major blow to corporate transparency. Indeed, Transparency International Ireland described the ruling as "extremely worrying and might be the biggest setback for the fight against corruption, organised crime and tax evasion in Europe". Thankfully, the court's judgment advised that those with a legitimate interest in beneficial ownership, including journalists, should have a legal right to access that information. Media and civil society organisations have been using publicly available beneficial ownership registers since 2018, when EU member states were required to create them.

Will the Taoiseach confirm that the legislation the Minister signed last week will in no way limit the ability of journalists and other civil society organisations to access information on corporate ownership through the beneficial ownership register?

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