IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Grainne Callanan, April McClements and Aisling Kavanagh, Matheson LLP
sions Authority (EIOPA) published its Guidelines on ICT Security and Governance. The CBI confirmed that these guidelines supersede its 2016 guidance but do not contradict anything in it. In December 2021, the CBI published its final Cross- Industry Guidance on Operational Resilience to assist financial firms in preparing, responding, recovering, and learning from an operational disruption affect- ing the delivery of critical or important business ser- vices. Anticipating the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), the CBI noted that these guidelines were compatible with and complementary to DORA, with no contradictions between the two. However, more recently, the CBI acknowledged that certain national guidance will need to be updated in order to align with DORA, including guidance on “operational resilience” and “outsourcing”. In July 2025, the CBI published its updated Cross Industry Guidance on Operational Resilience (“Guid- ance”). The Guidance has been applicable since 14 July 2025 and replaces the previous version that applied from 1 December 2021 to 13 July 2025. Spe- cifically, as regards DORA, the “ Concept of Opera - tional Resilience ” has been updated to refer to the fact that the Guidance is supplementary to DORA, in force since 17 January 2025, highlighting that the Guidance will be useful to all firms, whether in scope of DORA or not, as regards strengthening operational resilience. As regards guidance on outsourcing, the CBI has stated, in its December 2025 publication “Regulat- ing & Supervising well – a more effective and efficient framework”, that it will update its outsourcing guid- ance in H2 2026. 11.2 New Products or Alternative Solutions Warranty and Indemnity Insurance Warranty and indemnity insurance is being used more frequently in commercial transactions, as are other bespoke transactional products such as litigation buy- out policies. Addressing Emerging Risks Cyber-insurance is a product on the Irish market that has grown in popularity, with several insurers offer- ing new cyberproducts in Ireland. However, Domhnall
Cullinan, the former director of insurance supervision at the CBI, previously voiced concern about the Irish market’s positioning to take advantage of this growth area, stating: “The Irish insurance industry does not find itself as a large provider of capacity in the inter- national market… without appropriate pricing and adequate reserving and the right expertise to under- write the risk.” EIOPA noted that almost 70% of SMEs are not cov- ered for cyber-attack risks. In September 2023, EIOPA launched a survey on access to cyber-insurance by SMEs to better understand the difficulties small busi- nesses face in protecting themselves from cyber-risks and to assess the level of access to cyber-insurance. The survey found that cyber-risks remain at a medium level, with an increasing risk outlook over the next 12 months. It also showed that cyber underwriting has been limited in the EEA insurance sector, primarily due to challenges with pricing and uncertainty about the nature of the risks. In its February 2025 Regulatory and Supervisory Out- look Report, the CBI addressed cyber insurance in the context of insurance companies’ business models and strategies. The CBI noted that concentrations of cyber insurance require careful management within a firm’s overall risk appetite, particularly where relevant experience and expertise are scarce. The CBI stated that enhancing cyber-related resilience is one of its key priorities across the financial sector, with a key element being the effective implementation of DORA obligations by regulated firms, including critical third- party information and communications technology (ICT) providers. The latest Insurance Risk Dashboard published by EIOPA in October 2025 showed that cyber and digitalisation risks are gaining prominence, with an increased perceived likelihood of incidents and grow- ing concerns around the vulnerabilities of IT systems.
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