The Chartered Governance Institute - Republic of Ireland Region (formerly Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators)

Lobbying Organisation The Chartered Governance Institute - Republic of Ireland Region (formerly Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators)

Date published 08 Sep, 2020

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area Economic Development and Industry

Period 1 May, 2020 to 31 Aug, 2020

Specific Details Letter outlining our concerns over the proposed Sept 2020 go-live date for the CRO Digital Transformation – updated online filing system. Because there was no published detailed timeline, all existing efiling forms would become obsolete and not be accepted by the CRO, autumn is the heaviest filing period for annual returns and, the need for software providers to provide timely upgrades for company secretarial practitioners – our members believed September was not the correct time to implement.

Intended results We recommended either that implementation be delayed to a quieter time, possibly December 2020 or the extension of time to file the 2020 annual return should be further extended to 31 December 2020. This extension would align with the emergency measures in the Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (COVID-19) Act 2020 to defer the holding of this year’s Annual General Meeting until 31 December 2020.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity John Burns, Business Development Manager, The Chartered Governance Institute - Irish Region

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Email (2-5)

Email with an attached letter to Mr John Newham, Assistant Secretary Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation on 31 August 2020. Email with a copy of this letter to Ms Maureen O'Sullivan, on 31 August 2020 Registrar of Companies, Companies Registration Office. Copy of letter is available on our website - https://www.icsa.org.uk/ireland/about-us/submissions

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Maureen O’Sullivan Registrar of Companies (Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation)

John Newham Assistant Secretary (Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation)