With the first representative action issued pursuant to the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Act 2023 (the “Act”), 2025 was a landmark year for collective litigation in Ireland. In this briefing we recap on the key developments.
Ireland’s first representative action: ICCL v Microsoft
The Act introduced a new statutory mechanism for representative actions to be brought by qualified entities (“QEs”) on behalf of consumers. Although the Act was commenced on 30 April 2024, Ireland’s first representative action was only issued in May 2025, paving the way for future representative actions before the Irish courts.
On 26 May 2025, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (“ICCL”) was granted leave to bring Ireland’s first representative action against Microsoft (the “Proceedings”). The Proceedings concern “Real-Time Bidding” within Microsoft’s online advertising system. In these Proceedings, ICCL seek injunctive and declaratory relief.
The Proceedings were admitted to the Commercial List of the High Court on consent on 30 June 2025. 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 admission of the Proceedings into the Commercial List is significant as it sets a precedent for representative actions to receive fast-track treatment in the Irish courts and signals judicial recognition of the importance and complexity of cases brought under the Act.
Growth of QEs
Digital Rights Ireland became the third QE designated by the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment with effect from 3 July 2025. Digital Rights Ireland joins ICCL (designated as of 6 June 2024) and noyb (European Center for Digital Rights) (designated as of 11 October 2024) on the Irish Register of Qualified Entities.
While the protection of civil liberties and human rights and consumer rights in the digital sphere feature prominently in the mandates of the QEs currently designated in Ireland, at a European level, the sectoral profile of the designated QEs is more diverse, traversing areas such as consumer protection, finance, transport and data protection. As of 17 December 2025, 76 cross-border QEs feature on the list maintained by the European Commission, including the three QEs designated in Ireland, compared to 49 at the end of 2024. European designations are potentially significant as the Act permits cross-border representative actions, i.e. a representative action brought by a QE in a Member State other than the Member State in which they were designated.
Looking ahead to 2026
The issue of Ireland’s first representative action demonstrates confidence in the mechanism introduced by the Act, with more proceedings expected to be issued in 2026.
With a precedent now set in the Commercial List of the High Court in Ireland’s first representative action under the Act and the number of designated QEs growing, the recommendations of the Irish Law Reform Commission (“LRC”) on the issue of third-party litigation funding, which is currently prohibited in Ireland, are highly anticipated. As outlined in our briefing LRC recommendations on Third-Party Litigation Funding expected in Spring 2026 the LRC is due to publish its recommendations in late Spring 2026.
The European Commission has recently signalled that it is not proceeding with plans to regulate third-party litigation funding at this time (discussed in our briefing European Commission suspends plans to regulate Third-Party Litigation Funding | Arthur Cox LLP). Given the potential impact the availability of third-party litigation funding would have on the collective litigation landscape in Ireland, attention is now firmly on the awaited LRC recommendations to see if any relaxation of the existing prohibition on third-party litigation funding is recommended and if so, the level of regulation recommended.
A relaxation on the current prohibition on third-party litigation funding in Ireland would inevitably add further momentum to the use of the representative action mechanism in Ireland, particularly as regards representative actions seeking redress, given the likely costs associated with a representative action.
Concluding thoughts
2025 has been a defining year in Ireland’s collective litigation landscape, with the representative action mechanism provided for under the Act used for the first time to enforce consumer interests. As the number of QEs continues to grow and with the LRC’s recommendations on third-party litigation funding on the horizon, businesses operating in Ireland should closely monitor these developments and assess their exposure to potential representative actions.
If you would like to discuss any of the matters covered in this update in more detail, please get in touch with any member of our Litigation, Dispute Resolution and Investigations Group.