Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)

Policy, legislation and enforcement always should aim to make it easy for people and companies to do the right thing and make it difficult to do the wrong thing. There is ample evidence that the current competition legislation is not working and I acknowledge the introduction of this Bill seeks to try to correct this. From my perspective, it is unjust that any small business or any person should be driven out of business and be obliged to spend up to 16 years in and out of courtrooms in an attempt to ascertain the right of that small company or person to trade in the face of anti-competitive practices by larger monopolies. However, that is happening today as Members speak. Justice delayed is justice denied and the Minister of State is correct to allude to the independence of the Competition Authority, which I fully support. However, the Minister and the Government have both the right and the responsibility to ensure that whatever legislation, mechanisms, policies or enforcement measures exist must be used to ensure that anti-competitive practices are stamped out.

The Minister of State should agree to accept this amendment because as my colleague, Deputy Tóibín, stated, this amendment seeks in a modest way to improve communications between the Government and the Competition Authority. It is not about the Government telling the Competition Authority what to do but pertains to the Government responding to statements and information from the aforementioned authority in a public manner. Unless this modest amendment is accepted, all that will happen is the continuation of the failure to confront anti-competitive practices by the great and the powerful in this land. I again ask the Minister of State to accept Sinn Féin's amendment and to begin the process of introducing systems that will ensure integrity in the conduct of business on this island.

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