Background On the 21 January 2020 the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK (the “ICO”) issued the Age Appropriate Design Code (the “Code”) – a code of practice that sets 15 standards that online services should reach in order to protect children’s privacy. The need for such a code is reflected in this statement from […]

Partner and Head of EU and Competition Law, Ronan Dunne, was delighted to contribute to the latest edition of the European Competition and Regulatory Law Review (CoRe), providing an update on developments in Irish merger control law. Full report available here. Published by Lexxion, (CoRe 1/2020 Vol. 4).

The MetroLink project involves the development of 19km (12km in tunnel) urban railway and includes 16 new stations, proposed to run from Estuary on Dublin’s northside to Charlemont via Dublin Airport and St. Stephen’s Green. The MetroLink will link Dublin Airport, Irish Rail, DART, Dublin Bus and Luas services, creating fully integrated public transport in […]

Partner Simon O’Neill was delighted to contribute the Ireland country report to the special 15 year anniversary edition of the IFN Islamic Finance guide. Simon’s article, on the progress of Islamic Finance in Ireland, can be accessed here.  

The Irish High Court has recently confirmed that solar PV projects are not a project type listed in the EIA Directive – see Sweetman v An Bord Pleanála and Others, judgment delivered by Mr Justice McDonald on 31 January 2020. It does not necessarily follow from this judgment, however, that that solar projects will never […]

The Supreme Court decision in Balz v An Bord Pleanála 1 highlights the importance for all public body decision makers to give sufficient reasons for their decisions. The facts of the case relate to a planning permission by An Bord Pleanála (“the Board”) for the erection of 11 Wind Turbines. However, the principle of the […]

As published in the Business Post, February 2nd 2020. The financial difficulties of RTÉ are likely to continue into 2020.  In 2019, the Director-General announced that the station is in discussion with high–earning presenters in an attempt to negotiate salary cuts. RTÉ is not the first employer to find itself in this position by any […]

On February 5th, Head of our Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Group, Andrew Tzialli, will be participating in a panel discussion on tokenisation of equity in Ireland and the opportunities it presents. This event is co-hosted by AKASHA Innovation Hub and SORS Digital Assets. For further details on the speaker line up and how to register, click […]

‘Attracting and Retaining Migrant-led Start-ups and Innovative Entrepreneurs from outside the EU’ will take place at the Department of Justice on 29 January. The conference is co-hosted by EMN Ireland, the ESRI, and the Department of Justice and Equality, and will be opened by Minister Charlie Flanagan TD. Head of Immigration, Aoife Gillespie, will be […]

On the 17 December 2019 the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK (the “ICO”) issued its first penalty notice under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (the “GDPR”). Under the GDPR, the ICO carries out the same supervisory role in the UK as the Data Protection Commission carries out here in Ireland. The notice issued […]