| Ahern Bans Upward Only Rent Reviews | New Rules Allowing for the Reservation of a Company Name | TIEA signed with Liechtenstein | Ireland Moves Closer to a Complete Land Registry | Free Legal Aid Scheme Extended | Death-Knell for Public Access to Wills |
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AHERN BANS UPWARD ONLY RENT REVIEWS |
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Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has banned upward only rent review clauses in business leases. The banning order on upward only rent reviews will amend clauses under section 132 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act. The section will come into operation on 28 February 2010. This ban will only apply to leases taken out after this date. |
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NEW RULES ALLOWING FOR THE RESERVATION OF A COMPANY NAME |
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New rules came into effect recently allowing applicants to apply to the Registrar of Companies to reserve a specified name for a company prior to incorporation. If the proposed company name is acceptable to the Registrar the applicant will be notified that the proposed name is reserved for a period of 28 days. During this period no other company may be incorporated with the reserved name. An application fee of €25 is due with all applications and an additional €25 is required for an extension of the reservation period. Applications to reserve a specified name may be submitted to the Companies Online Registration Environment service available on the CRO website www.cro.ie. |
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| TIEA SIGNED WITH LIECHTENSTEIN |
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The Irish government has recently signed an agreement with the Government of the Principality of Liechtenstein for the Exchange of Information Relating to Tax Matters. This agreement will allow the Revenue Commissioners to request information, which is relevant to an Irish tax investigation, directly from the authorities in Liechtenstein.
Information that is typically relevant is bank account information and beneficial ownership information for companies and other entities established in Liechtenstein. The Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with Liechtenstein is the ninth that Ireland has signed, following the signing of agreements with the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Anguilla, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bermuda. |
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IRELAND MOVES CLOSER TO A COMPLETE LAND REGISTRY |
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The days of cumbersome, costly and complex unregistered titles are numbered. Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has signed an order extending compulsory registration of land to twelve more counties. The only counties remaining outside the compulsory registration system for the foreseeable future will be Dublin and Cork. As a result, Ireland will move closer to a complete land register. This modernisation of the Irish land registration system – with electronic conveyancing of land and the reforms proposed by the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act – will mean reduced registration delays and associated costs. |
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FREE LEGAL AID SCHEME EXTENDED |
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| The District Court free criminal aid scheme, which has so far been restricted to solicitors, is being extended to include barristers. The decision follows a ruling by the Supreme Court that defendants should be entitled to representation by counsel in serious or complicated cases. Under the new scheme, a defence solicitor must apply in writing for a barrister. The District Judge must be satisfied that the defendant is too poor to afford counsel, and that the gravity and complexity of the case, or other exceptional circumstances, make it essential in the interests of justice that the defendant be represented by a barrister. Defendants may have to provide a statement of means before being granted a legal representation certificate. The judge’s decision on the application is final and may not be appealed.
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DEATH-KNELL FOR PUBLIC ACCESS TO WILLS |
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| The head of the Probate Office has advised that information available to the public about the contents of wills was ‘an invasion of privacy’ and put beneficiaries ‘at risk’. The change – which was approved recently by the President of the High Court, Richard Johnson – now prevents members of the public or the media getting access to the details of the deceased’s estate unless they are a direct beneficiary of a will. This is a change to the established practice of the past 42 years. The President of the High Court issued a ‘practice direction’ to the Probate Office that a document known as the Inland Revenue Affidavit, which lists details of property and other assets, can now only be inspected by people who benefit from a will, or a Government official who has a legitimate interest in its contents.
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