Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Obviously the regulatory offices and agencies play a key role in ensuring that markets, including the labour market, work efficiently through smart regulation, which encourages innovation, competition and high standards of compliance and protection of consumers but without unnecessary regulatory cost.

I will outline briefly some of the key activities of a number of the agencies under the Department. Since its establishment the Workplace Relations Commission through the new adjudication service has reduced the number of legacy employment rights industrial relations complaints. The numbers have reduced from 2,397 in November 2015 to fewer than 50 at the end of June 2017. That is a very striking reduction. The number of equal status legacy cases has also been reduced from 1,298 to 482 cases. I think that is really important. In terms of handling current complaints the adjudication service received more than 6,000 specific complaints in the six months to the end of June 2017, but decisions in respect of complaints now issue within eight months, with the majority being issued within a shorter timeframe. The service is responding in a faster way and in a much better timeframe than what users of the previous structures experienced. Some 2,671 inspections have been completed to date this year, with a total of 1,000 employers found to have been in breach of the regulations.

The figures for the Companies Registration Office Ireland, CRO, reflect the present economic situation. The first half of 2017 was very busy for the CRO. The number of Irish companies on the companies register is 211,110. There were 2,713 external company registrations, and one can imagine the significant level of documentation, which was well over 250,000 documents, and some 74% were processed through e-filing but in excess of 11,000 new companies were incorporated, an average of 1,875 each month, and more than 13,000 new business names were registered with the CRO in the first half of this year. That is a reflection of the economic activity that is going on in terms of businesses and companies. It is very encouraging. This level of new businesses being formed is to be welcomed.

The Low Pay Commission comes under my Department. Deputies and Senators will be aware that in July 2017, the Low Pay Commission recommended a further increase in the national minimum wage of 30 cent, bringing the minimum wage up to €9.55 per hour. Responsibility was recently transferred to the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection for that part of the work of my Department.

The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, ODCE, obviously plays a very central role in facilitating compliance with and enforcement of company law. Again, let me put some statistics on the record, because I think they are very interesting, between 2012 and 2016, investigations by the ODCE have resulted in 977 company directors being restricted and 65 company directors disqualified by the High Court, with directors' loans infringements totalling €221 million rectified on foot of action by the ODCE. That is quite a volume of work. However, following the outcome of the ODCE's prosecution of a number of persons, and Judge Alymer's decision in May 2017 to acquit Mr. Sean FitzPatrick, the then Minister at the time requested the Director of Corporate Enforcement to submit a report on the issues highlighted by Judge Aylmer in his ruling. That report was furnished to me on 23 June 2017 under section 955 of the Companies Act 2014. I have referred the report to the Attorney General for advice and specifically as to whether there are any legal impediments to publishing the report and discussing its contents in the Oireachtas. Of course, I would like to publish the report and will do so as soon as I get legal clearance.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC is the other regulatory body charged with enforcing competition and consumer protection law. They have done a great deal of work this year. The first conviction in Ireland for bid rigging, resulted from an investigation into a cartel in the flooring sector. The first custodial sentence was also handed down against a trader for misleading a consumer in the sale of a clocked car. I think many will be interested to learn that the commission has been looking at misleading practices in the sale of clocked or crashed cars. The CCPC continues an investigation into potential price signalling in the motor insurance sector as well. The CCPC has held some 27 witness summons hearings and obtained more than 1.24 million emails and documents from parties under investigation into potential price signalling. That is clearly a very serious and detailed investigation that is currently under way.

They are looking at anti-competitive conduct in the ticketing sector. Some 99 files into potential car clocking in the motor industry were opened in the first half of the year and unannounced inspections commenced in car garages across the country to ensure compliance with consumer protection legislation. In the year to date, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, has received 44 merger notifications, 41 of which were cleared within 30 working days. That is a phase 1 assessment. As at 30 June, in another important area on which it spends a lot of time, there were 114 live investigations into unsafe products on the market, which could include anything from dangerous toys to products that could cause harm in the home. It is very centrally involved in that work as well.

I hope that gives a flavour of some of the agencies under the aegis of the Department at present.