The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has signed a Ministerial Order increasing the financial thresholds for mandatory merger notification to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“CCPC”), with the revised thresholds taking effect from 1 July 2026.
New thresholds from 1 July 2026
From 1 July 2026, a transaction requires notification to the CCPC under the Competition Act 2002 (as amended) where:
- the aggregate turnover in the Republic of Ireland of the undertakings involved is at least €100 million (previously €60 million); and
- the turnover in the Republic of Ireland of each of at least two undertakings is at least €15 million (previously €10 million).
Transactions meeting these mandatory notification thresholds must be notified prior to implementation and cannot be completed until cleared. Transactions will be assessed against these revised thresholds from 1 July 2026. No transition provisions are included in the Ministerial Order. The CCPC’s “call-in” powers, which were exercised for the first time in M/26/029 – Uniphar/TouchStore (see our previous briefing on Uniphar/TouchStore here), are unaffected by these revisions to the mandatory notification thresholds.
Why are the merger thresholds being increased?
The increase in thresholds reflects a clear policy of a more targeted use of the CCPC’s resources, ensuring that merger reviews are focused on transactions with a higher likelihood of raising substantive competition concerns. The reform is also intended to reduce the regulatory burden and transaction costs associated with smaller and non‑problematic transactions. The revised thresholds also recognise the impact of economic growth and inflation since they were last updated in 2019 and are designed to bring Ireland more closely into line with comparable EU merger control regimes.
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