Companies Act 2014 section 944Q

Disclosure of information to Authority

Section 944Q sets out which public bodies and other persons may share information with the Corporate Enforcement Authority, what type of information may be shared, and how the Authority may use that information once received.

• A wide range of bodies — including the Garda Síochána, Revenue Commissioners, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Criminal Assets Bureau, and several other regulators — may disclose information to the Authority regardless of any other legal restrictions on sharing.
• The information that may be disclosed is information that, in the opinion of the disclosing party, relates to an offence or non-compliance under the Companies Act, or that could materially assist the Authority in investigating such matters, including potential disqualification proceedings.
• Revenue Commissioners officers are specifically permitted to give evidence relating to confidential taxpayer information in any proceedings brought under the Act, overriding the normal taxpayer confidentiality rules in the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.
• Once information has been lawfully disclosed to the Authority for one permitted purpose, the Authority may also use that same information for any of the other permitted purposes — it is not confined to the reason originally given for the disclosure.