Central Bank of Ireland Fines Alan Dalton €67,580 for Insider Dealing

The Central Bank of Ireland has fined Alan Dalton a total of €67,580 for breaching the prohibition on insider dealing under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), the regulator said. The announcement follows a settlement reached between the Central Bank and Mr Dalton on 10 November 2026.

According to the Central Bank, Mr Dalton engaged in insider dealing on two separate occasions by selling shares he owned in HealthBeacon PLC, his former employer, outside the normal exercise of his employment, profession or duties. He sold the shares while in possession of price-sensitive, material inside information relevant to the company. Neither HealthBeacon nor any of its other employees or agents was the subject of the investigation.

Through his role, Mr Dalton became aware of specific issues with HealthBeacon's supply chain that meant the company would not, in the short term, be able to produce the Smart Sharps Bin in volumes previously advised to investors. He resigned and ceased working for the company on 24 June 2022.

On 27 June 2022 and 4 July 2022, Mr Dalton called his broker requesting that his shares in HealthBeacon be sold. On 6 July 2022, the company made an unscheduled announcement via RNS that it was experiencing unanticipated delays in the near-term supply of components for the Smart Sharps Bin, reducing its deployment forecast. The announcement caused HealthBeacon's share price to fall sharply.

While in possession of the same price-sensitive inside information contained in the RNS announcement, and before that announcement was made, Mr Dalton called his broker on two separate occasions after his final working date to sell shares in the company. The Central Bank said he avoided a loss of €21,800 by selling his shares when he did.

The regulator concluded that Mr Dalton breached Article 14(a) of MAR, which prohibits insider dealing, on two dates in 2022. He admitted the contraventions and agreed to resolve the matter with the Central Bank.

The overall sanctions imposed amounted to €87,200, comprising €21,800 in disgorgement and a separate monetary sanction of €65,400. After a 30% settlement discount, which under legislation applies only to the monetary sanction, Mr Dalton will pay a total of €67,580.

In deciding the sanctions, the Central Bank said it considered all relevant circumstances, including the need for a penalty proportionate to the privileged position Mr Dalton held through possession of specific information not in the public domain, which, when made public, had a direct negative impact on HealthBeacon's share price. The regulator said that due to his actions, Mr Dalton did not suffer this impact and avoided a financial loss.