Public Consultation in relation to access to the Usual Residential Addresses of Company Directors and Secretaries

The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment is inviting submissions from stakeholders and interested parties on proposed amendments to the Companies Act 2014 concerning access to the residential addresses of company Directors and Secretaries.

The proposed changes aim to improve privacy protections by limiting public access to the usual residential addresses of company officers. The measures will apply to the Companies Act 2014, the Co-operative Societies Bill, and the Registration of Limited Partnership and Business Names Bill.

The closing date for submissions is 19 December 2025.

Current Position: Residential Addresses of Directors and Secretaries

Under the current legislation:

• Companies are required to maintain and make publicly available a Register of Directors and Secretaries which includes, among other details, the “usual residential address” of directors and secretaries (referred to as relevant officers).
• Company filings submitted to the Companies Registration Office (CRO), including incorporation documents, director appointments or changes, and annual returns, also include the usual residential addresses of relevant officers. These details are publicly accessible.

Company Law Review Group Report

The Company Law Review Group (CLRG) has recently published a Report on the Review of the Provisions Pertaining to the Disclosure of an Officer’s Residential Address, Having Regard to Company Transparency Requirements and GDPR.

The full report is available on the CLRG website. https://www.clrg.org/media/pngegdw0/report-on-the-review-of-the-provisions-pertaining-to-the-disclosure-of-officers-residential-addresses.pdf

Proposed Changes

It is proposed that the Companies Act 2014 be amended to allow a company’s relevant officers to provide a “contact address”, located within the State, in addition to their usual residential address. This contact address would be used for public access purposes and for the effective service of documents.

Under the proposal:

• The contact address would be the only address published on the company’s Register of Directors and Secretaries, the Register of Members, and the Register of Companies maintained by the CRO.
• The company and the CRO would continue to retain a record of the usual residential address, but access to this information would be restricted.
• Access to the usual residential address would be limited to certain prescribed entities, as determined by the Minister. These are expected to include law enforcement agencies, regulatory authorities, and other relevant bodies.
• A court may order disclosure of a relevant officer’s usual residential address where the contact address is ineffective for service and disclosure is necessary to ensure access to justice.

Important Note on Retrospective Effect

The proposed changes will not apply retrospectively. As a result, the usual residential addresses of relevant officers will remain publicly available on historic CRO filings. This means the changes may offer limited practical benefit to directors whose residential addresses are already on the public record.

NB: The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.