IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Niall Esler, Shane Martin, James O’Doherty and Laura Whitson, Walkers
The Digital Markets Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/1925) (DMA) entered into force on 1 November 2022 and became applicable from May 2023. It requires gatekeepers that have established “core platform service” search engines, social networking services, app stores, web browsers, etc – to abide by various require - ments around fairness and transparency. 2.10 Significant Enforcement Actions The Central Bank has taken enforcement actions in a broad range of areas where breaches of financial services legislation have been commit - ted by regulated entities. In 2024, the Central Bank took enforcement actions against three entities relating to breaches of the PSR, funds legislation and market abuse rules. 2.11 Implications of Additional, Non- Financial Services Regulations Firms will need to ensure that they operate in accordance with non-financial services require - ments in Ireland, including data protection laws, cybersecurity requirements, consumer protec - tion legislation, company law and intellectual property law. The Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) (DSA) and the DMA form a single set of rules to create a fairer digital space for users. The DMA applies to online gatekeepers that reach certain turnover volumes. The DSA regulates online intermediaries and platforms. 2.12 Review of Industry Participants by Parties Other than Regulators Where companies are required to produce audit - ed financial statements, their statutory auditors will review their financial accounts. In 2023, the Central Bank required Irish payment and e-mon - ey firms to obtain a safeguarding audit.
As part of its supervisory expectations, the Cen - tral Bank expects CASPs to ensure that inde - pendent third-party assurance is provided on an annual basis, confirming that the safeguarding framework CASPs have in place is compliant with requirements. A broad range of authorities may be relevant dur - ing a firm’s life cycle, including tax authorities, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforce - ment, exchanges and the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman. 2.13 Conjunction of Unregulated and Regulated Products and Services For the most part, it is possible for a regulated entity to offer regulated and unregulated ser - vices, unless it is restricted by its financial ser - vices licence. Under both the PSR and EMR, the Central Bank is empowered to require firms that undertake additional activities to establish separate entities. In their Joint Report on recent developments in crypto-assets, the EBA and ESMA highlighted examples of regulated entities providing both regulated and unregulated services. 2.14 Impact of AML and Sanctions Rules The applicability of AML rules will depend pri - marily on whether a fintech company falls within the categories of “designated persons” under the CJA 2010. Where a fintech firm is regulated by the Central Bank, it will typically be a desig - nated person. EU and Irish financial sanctions rules will apply to all fintech firms regardless of authorisation status.
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