ACTS AWAITING COMMENCEMENT

Screening of Third Country Transactions Act 2023

Date published: 2 August 2022

The purpose of this bill is to implement Regulation 2019/452 on Foreign Direct Investment Screening. The legislation will allow for certain transactions that might present security or public order risks to the State to be reviewed by the Minister for Enterprise, and allows the State to respond to threats posed by particular types of foreign investments. The bill provides that a transaction must be notified where:

• a third country undertaking, or a person connected with such an undertaking, is a party to the transaction;
• the value of the transaction is no less than €2,000,000;
• the transaction relates to an asset or undertaking in the State, directly or indirectly;
• the transaction relates to the factors set out in Article 4(1) of Regulation 2019/452, such as critical infrastructure including energy, transport, water, health, communications; critical technologies including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, cybersecurity; energy supplies; sensitive data etc.

Under the legislation the Minister will be empowered to require data from investors in order to screen, and take actions in relation to, certain transactions. The legislation will also establish an Investment Screening Advisory Panel to advise the Minister in relation to certain transactions.

Latest stage: Signed into law by the President on 31 October 2023. Not yet commenced.