Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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452. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of current suspensions of involuntary strike-offs by the Companies Registration Office; the number of cases pending; and the number of companies that have been struck off since (details supplied); the steps being taken to ensure compliance with annual return obligations under the Companies Act 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61405/25]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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At the outset, it might be helpful to briefly set out the involuntary strike-off process followed by the Companies Registration Office (CRO) in relation to non-compliant companies. The first step is a warning letter from the CRO to the company, highlighting non-compliance with the Companies Act 2014. If the company fails to rectify the issue within 10 weeks, the formal strike-off procedure is initiated with a notice of intention to strike the company off the register. At least 28 days after this notice, a further notice is published in the CRO Gazette. Following another minimum period of 28 days from the Gazette publication, the Registrar may proceed to strike the company off the register. The company is officially dissolved once the final strike-off notice is published in the CRO Gazette. However, the CRO will discontinue the process at any stage if the company resolves the non-compliance before the final notice is issued.

The CRO had resumed the involuntary strike-off process on a limited basis in late 2024, with a focus at that time on companies that had no registered directors. This resulted is 510 companies ultimately being struck off and dissolved. Following enhancement to the CRO IT system, the automated involuntary strike-off process recommenced in Q3 2025 with volumes being ramped up on an ongoing basis. At present, approx. 400 companies enter the process per month, with a focus on companies that have failed to file annual returns. There are currently in the region of 950 companies at varying stages of the process.

It should be noted that all Annual Returns filed late are subject to a late filing fee and the CRO received a total of €9.7m in late filing fees during 2024.