Legislation has been signed for Ireland's participation in a new EU-wide 'one-stop-shop' for business information.
The European Single Access Point (ESAP) is an online portal that provides a centralised free source of public information about EU companies and investment products.
It is a single access point for public disclosures that are currently scattered across various national registers, company websites, or EU databases.
It includes information companies already publish such as financial statements, audit reports and sustainability reports.
The ESAP is designed to give companies, especially SMEs, greater exposure to both EU and international investors because all their key disclosures are centralised and searchable in one platform.
The aim is to reduce the information barriers that currently limit cross‑border investment.
Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris has signed into law the statutory instruments creating the Irish framework of the portal.
"The ESAP will be a free centralised portal of financial and non-financial information on EU companies," Mr Harris said.
"By putting it in place, we will create a one-stop-shop that will give easier access to comprehensive information on EU companies for all types of investors."
"This will very much benefit Irish firms as ESAP will lead to better, more informed decision making and potentially greater investment," he added.
Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke also welcomed the initiative.
"This will help reduce information barriers and facilitate more informed investment decisions, with the potential to strengthen the ability of Irish companies to raise capital and grow," Mr Burke said.
The ESAP will be established and administered by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
Designated national collection bodies as well as the European Supervisory Authorities will provide data to ESMA for the purposes of ESAP.
