TI Ireland wrote to the Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath, regarding access to the registers of beneficial ownership, which record who owns and benefits from companies and other corporate structures. Media and civil society access to these registers has been widely acknowledged – including by the EU – as an important tool in the fight against money laundering and other illicit activities, as well as for corporate transparency more broadly. However, last year the Minister introduced the European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (Statutory Instrument No. 308 of 2023), which effectively precludes access to beneficial ownership information for journalists or civil society organisations.