UCC School of Law hosts the CEO of the Corporate Enforcement Authority

29 Mar 2023

UCC School of Law recently hosted Ian Drennan, CEO of the Corporate Enforcement Authority, for a seminar with company law students.

The Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA), which was established last July, has assumed the statutory responsibilities and functions previously vested in the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. The CEA is the corporate enforcement arm of the State with responsibility for promoting compliance with company law, investigating breaches of company law, and enforcing company law.

Mr. Drennan gave students an insight into the work of the CEA and considered the relationship between a well-regulated economy with robust enforcement and a climate that attracts investment, encourages entrepreneurial activity and facilitates economic growth and the creation of employment. He noted that incorporation confers significant benefits, including perpetual succession and limited liability and that the vast majority of company directors, aided by the CEA’s advocacy activities, make best efforts to comply with their associated obligations under company law. He explained that, where instances of suspected non-compliance come to the CEA’s attention, the CEA takes a proportionate and resource-efficient approach towards enforcement, with its resources being concentrated on tackling suspected wrongdoing at the more serious end of the spectrum – be that wrongdoing that breaches civil or criminal provisions of company law. In adopting that approach, the CEA seeks to both confront wrongdoing and to provide a broader dissuasive influence.

This event gave students the unique opportunity to get a first-hand account of what influences the CEA to investigate companies and initiate the kinds of enforcement actions that students study as part of the company law course at UCC.

The event was well attended by students who got the chance to engage directly with Mr. Drennan during the questions and answers session. 

Students' enthusiasm for Mr. Drennan's visit and the quality of the questions they asked him demonstrates the interest that there is among students at UCC School of Law in business-related matters and speaks to the School's commitment to high quality research and teaching across all aspects of business law.

We are enormously grateful to Mr. Drennan for generously giving his time and for sharing his expertise with our students. We look forward to further engagement with the Corporate Enforcement Authority in the future and to developing new opportunities for synergies between UCC School of Law and the CEA.