The Companies Registration Office (CRO; Irish: An Oifig um Chlárú Cuideachtaí) registers and incorporates companies in Ireland and files their annual returns.
[1] The CRO has a number of core functions:[2] It also registers the names of businesses which are non-limited trading entities such as sole traders and partnerships.
In 2019, the Register of Beneficial Ownership was introduced into Ireland.
That was implemented on the back of the EU’s Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which essentially requires all member states to hold adequate, accurate and current information of all beneficial owners.
A beneficial owner is someone who owns more than 25% of a company.