In April 2020, the Department of Business Enterprise and
Innovation (the "Department") launched a
public consultation on foreign direct investment
("FDI") screening (the
"Consultation") with the intention of
informing the policy position that Ireland adopts in implementing
EU Regulation 2019/452 on establishing a framework for screening
FDI in the EU (the
"Regulation")1.
At present, Ireland does not screen FDI, nor is the State
currently legally empowered to do so. However, due to the outbreak
of COVID-19, implementation of an investment screening regime has
now taken priority at a European level.
The Regulation, which was adopted in April 2019 and comes into
force on 11 October 2020, is a response to growing concern amongst
EU Member States regarding the purchase of, and investment in, a
number of strategic European companies by foreign owned firms (and
in certain cases, state owned firms) that may undermine a Member
States' security or public order. The
