diff --git a/compiler/ir/ir.tree/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/ir/util/DeepCopyIrTree.kt b/compiler/ir/ir.tree/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/ir/util/DeepCopyIrTree.kt
index 917ee1aca62..52a987775b5 100644
--- a/compiler/ir/ir.tree/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/ir/util/DeepCopyIrTree.kt
+++ b/compiler/ir/ir.tree/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/ir/util/DeepCopyIrTree.kt
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ open class DeepCopyIrTree : IrElementTransformerVoid() {
             }
         }
 
-    private fun IrAnnotationContainer.transformAnnotations(original: IrAnnotationContainer) {
+    protected fun IrAnnotationContainer.transformAnnotations(original: IrAnnotationContainer) {
         original.annotations.mapTo(annotations) { it.transform() }
     }