Ireland transposes fresh Russia sanctions in ninth 2026 statutory instrument

The Minister for Finance has made S.I. No. 521 of 2026, the European Union (Restrictive Measures Concerning Russia) (No. 9) Regulations 2026, giving full effect in Irish law to the amended EU restrictive measures on Russia. The instrument is published in Iris Oifigiúil No. 83 of Friday, 16 October 2026, in Section I, at a cover price of €3.00. It is the ninth set of Russia restrictive-measures regulations issued this year and the second in under three weeks.

The regulations were made in exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972). That provision is the standard domestic vehicle for giving effect to EU restrictive measures, and the same legal basis is used in the Libya and Ukraine instruments carried in the same issue of the gazette.

Two Council Regulations given full effect

The notice states that the purpose of the regulations is to give full effect to two amended Council acts:

• Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1485 of 27 May 2024, as amended.
• Council Regulation (EU) 2024/2642 of 8 October 2024, as amended.

Both are cited as amended, meaning the Irish instrument tracks the consolidated text of the EU measures rather than the original versions adopted in 2024. The gazette entry records the making of the regulations and their purpose; it does not reproduce the operative provisions, which are carried in the statutory instrument itself.

A series that keeps pace with Brussels

S.I. No. 521 of 2026 follows S.I. No. 495 of 2026, the European Union (Restrictive Measures Concerning Russia) (No. 8) Regulations 2026, published in Iris Oifigiúil No. 78 of 29 September 2026. That earlier instrument cited exactly the same pair of Council Regulations, 2024/1485 and 2024/2642, both as amended.

The numbering indicates a rolling programme: each time the Council amends the Russia regime, the Department of Finance reissues the domestic regulations so that the amended measures apply with full effect in Irish law. The gap between the eighth and ninth instruments was 17 days.

Libya and Ukraine measures in the same issue

The Russia instrument was published alongside two further restrictive-measures instruments in the same edition of the gazette:

• S.I. No. 519 of 2026, the European Union (Restrictive Measures Concerning Libya) (No. 3) Regulations 2026, giving full effect to Council Regulation (EU) No. 2016/44 of 18 January 2016.
• S.I. No. 520 of 2026, the European Union (Restrictive Measures Concerning Ukraine) (No. 14) Regulations 2026, giving full effect to five Council Regulations: No. 208/2014 of 5 March 2014, No. 269/2014 of 17 March 2014, No. 692/2014 of 23 June 2014, No. 833/2014 of 31 July 2014 and No. 2022/263 of 23 February 2022, each as amended.

The Ukraine instrument is the fourteenth in its own series, against the ninth for Russia, reflecting how much more frequently the Ukraine regime has been revised since 2014.

Why it matters

For banks, funds and businesses operating under Irish law, the practical effect of S.I. No. 521 of 2026 is that the amended Russia measures now bite domestically as of publication, and compliance functions must work from the consolidated EU text rather than the 2024 originals. The pace of reissuance — two instruments in 17 days — is itself the signal: counterparty screening and asset controls tied to the Russia regime are being refreshed continuously, and firms that rely on older versions of the regulations risk applying an out-of-date list.

Source: Iris Oifigiúil, No. 83, 16 October 2026, section I (official reference: S.I. No. 521 of 2026).