Irish Advertising Rules: Central Bank Regulations 74 to 95

Advertising is where a firm's promises meet the regulator's rules. The Central Bank of Ireland's 2025 consumer protection regulations include a chapter on advertising, Regulations 74 to 89, which applies to advertisements for regulated activities that are available to consumers. This guide summarises that chapter as published on the Central Bank's website. It supports our Customer Understanding and Clear Communications course overview and follows our guide to the Informing Effectively rules.

The core standard

Regulation 77 requires advertisements to be clear, fair, accurate and not misleading. Research and claims must be sourced, and the regulation sets out a list of specific areas that can mislead, including "free" offers and sustainability claims. Regulation 78 requires the company name and any trading name to be clearly specified, and Regulation 79 requires an advertisement to identify itself as an advertisement. Regulation 75 requires advertisements to be reviewed regularly and updated where necessary, with records of the steps taken.

Presenting benefits, risks and fine print

Under Regulation 80, key information must be clearly identified and not obscured, risks must be given alongside benefits, and small print is restricted. Regulation 81 says qualifying criteria for fixed prices or maximum savings must be clear and not in small print. Regulation 82 requires warning statements to meet Regulation 45 and to appear alongside references to benefits, though audio advertisements may place them at the end. Regulation 83 allows warnings to be omitted only in limited cases, where the advertisement names the service or invites discussion, has no hyperlinks and refers to no terms. Regulation 88 requires initialisms and acronyms to have their meanings stated.

Hyperlinks and promotional rates

Regulation 76 permits hyperlinks only in limited cases. They must be prominent and must link to a single webpage containing all the required information. Regulation 84 requires promotional or introductory rates to state their expiry date and the rate that applies afterwards.

Testimonials, tied status and comparisons

Regulation 85 says recommendations or commendations must be genuine, attributed, dated and used with the author's consent, and must disclose any employee or payment relationship. Regulation 86 requires tied intermediaries to state that status in all advertisements. Regulation 87 requires comparisons to rest on verified facts or stated assumptions, to be fair and balanced, and to disclose key differences. Regulation 89 requires crowdfunding advertisements to carry a prescribed investment risk warning.

Regulatory disclosure and unregulated activities

The page also describes a regulatory disclosure statement, which regulated entities must include on business stationery, on relevant webpages, in electronic communications with consumers about regulated activities and in advertisements for regulated activities. The statement must use one of two prescribed formats, must not include other text, and must not appear to be an endorsement by the Central Bank. Regulation 72 requires information on regulated activities to be on a webpage separate from information on unregulated activities, and Regulation 73 requires systems and controls that make clear which activities are regulated and which are not, with a prescribed no-protection warning in written communications about unregulated activities.

Bundling and contingent selling

Regulations 90 to 95 deal with bundling. Selling one service cannot be made contingent on buying another from the same firm or a connected party, though existing customers may be offered additional services. Bundling is allowed only where the firm can show an overall cost saving for the consumer, and before bundling, items including the overall bundle cost, separate product costs, and switching and termination information must be given on paper or another durable medium. Optional extras must be disclosed as optional, with separate costs, and no fee may be charged for an extra without the consumer's consent.

Switching, exit and telephone sales

The bundling rules go further than the headline ban. Regulation 91 requires a firm to show an overall cost saving before it bundles. Regulation 92 lists six items to be given on paper or another durable medium before bundling: the overall bundle cost, the separate product costs, switching information and cost, and termination information and cost. Regulation 93 requires the consumer to receive the switching or termination information when they ask to switch or exit, and on exit the consumer may keep any product without penalty, other than losing a discount. Regulation 95 deals with telephone-only contact, where information must be given orally at the time and then on paper or another durable medium immediately afterwards.

Using this in a marketing or compliance role: our suggestions

These steps are our suggestions, not requirements in the regulations.

• Keep a dated log of advertisement reviews, since Regulation 75 asks for records.
• Check each promotional rate advertisement for an expiry date and the follow-on rate.
• Verify the source of every comparison and testimonial before sign-off.
• Look for hyperlinks that go to more than one page.

For structured learning, browse our CPD courses.

What we could not confirm

We summarised the page's own text, and we did not read the Central Bank's guidance on the regulations. The page text at the start of this section was cut off, so the number of the regulation that sets out the regulatory disclosure statement is not stated here. Some details, such as exact warning wording, are in the regulations themselves. This post covers Ireland only and is general information, not legal advice.