A designated activity company ( Irish: ''Cuideachta Ghníomhaíochta Ainmnithe'') or DAC is a form of company in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

created by the

Companies Act 2014 The Companies Act 2014 (No. 38 of 2014) was signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins on 23 December 2014 to regulate companies under Irish law. It was a consolidating and reforming piece of legislation, incorporating many of the provisi ...

. Like a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

, designated activity companies have limited liability. Additionally, they may only carry out activities listed in their constitution documents, and so the concept of

ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act that requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...

continues to apply to them. Notable DACs include

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

and

Ulster Bank Ulster Bank is one of the traditional Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group was subdivided into two separate legal entities: National Westminster Bank Plc, trading as Ulster Bank (registered in England and Wales and operating i ...

References

{{ireland-law-stub Business in Ireland