The first half of 2025 has seen significant developments in the landscape of collective redress in Ireland, following the commencement of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Act 2023 (the “2023 Act”) in April 2024.  As outlined in our earlier briefing entitled Collective Litigation in Ireland: A Guide to the new Representative Actions Mechanism, this long-awaited legislation transposes the EU Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828 into Irish law and introduces, for the first time, a statutory mechanism for qualified entities (“QE”) to bring representative actions on behalf of consumers in this jurisdiction.

Ireland’s First Representative Action under the 2023 Act

As anticipated, the new regime is already beginning to reshape consumer litigation and corporate accountability in Ireland. On 26 May 2025, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (“ICCL”) was granted leave to bring Ireland’s first ever representative action seeking injunctive relief under the 2023 Act, Irish Council for Civil Liberties Company Limited by Guarantee v Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited (Case Reference 2025 3009 P) (the “Proceedings”).  The case concerns “Real-Time Bidding” (RTB) within Microsoft’s advertising system and was admitted to the Commercial List of the High Court on consent on 30 June 2025 under Order 63A rule 1(b) of the Rules of the Superior Courts.  The Commercial List is a sub-division of the Irish High Court that deals with high-value, complex commercial disputes in an expedited and case-managed manner.

The Proceedings centre on an allegation by ICCL that Microsoft’s auctioning of data through RTB technology lacks controls and is in breach of data protection laws. Redress is not sought in the Proceedings, which are concerned solely with declaratory relief, requiring Microsoft to cease the processing of data if it is in breach of GDPR guidelines.

Despite issues being raised in the course of the application to enter the Proceedings into the Commercial List regarding firstly, the correct entity to be named (Microsoft submitted that Xandr Inc., a subsidiary of Microsoft and the data controller, should be substituted for Microsoft) and secondly, the source of ICCL’s funding, the Proceedings as originally constituted are proceeding with a timetable agreed for the exchange of pleadings between the parties. The Proceedings are next listed for mention in the Commercial List on 15 December 2025.

Looking Ahead

While only one representative action has been initiated to date, the foundation has been laid for the development of collective litigation in Ireland. We anticipate that in the coming months additional QEs will be designated and further representative actions will be filed, particularly as consumer groups become more familiar with the 2023 Act’s scope and procedural requirements.

The Irish courts are expected to play a central role in shaping the practical operation of the new regime. In particular, the admission of the first representative action taken under the 2023 Act into the Commercial List sets a precedent for cases of this kind to get fast-track treatment in the Irish courts.  More broadly, the judicial treatment of the Proceedings will likely forge a path for future representative actions in Ireland.

The Proceedings are notably confined to seeking declaratory relief and it is anticipated that, absent reform of the current prohibition in Ireland against third party funding, representative actions seeking injunctive relief will feature more prominently than representative actions seeking redress. As discussed in our earlier briefing entitled Representative Actions in Ireland: 2024 in Review, the prohibition on third party funding under Irish law means that QEs face potential significant financial exposure.  The issue of third party funding is the focus of an ongoing review by the Irish Law Reform Commission and its recommendations are awaited against the backdrop of wider developments at a European level, as discussed in our briefing entitled Third-Party Litigation Funding developments at the European Commission.

If you would like to discuss any of the matters covered in this briefing, please get in touch with any member of our Litigation, Dispute Resolution, and Investigations Group.