Ms Isolde Goggin:

We believe it would make us much more efficient. It would shorten the amount of time it takes to investigate cases. More cases would come forward because we would have much more visibility. Word gets around; if people see one business being fined it often puts the fear of God into others. People realise that this is a serious situation and that they need to have a compliance programme in place. Our ultimate aim is compliance and competition that works for consumers and legitimate businesses. Doing things in this way would be much more efficient. Many more investigations could be carried out more quickly. I do not want to jump the gun on the Department because budgeting will ultimately be for it to decide upon, but we have spoken to our counterparts in small member states, for example in The Netherlands and Lithuania, and they do not foresee that this requires a huge increase in resources. They are not talking about a doubling of resources but perhaps a small number of additional staff. Similarly, other enforcement agencies such as ComReg, the Central Bank and the Broadcasting Authority have the power to impose fines at the moment. They carry out investigations themselves and they observe due process, which of course we would have to do, and afford all appropriate rights to the defence. They are able to do it in a way that is not massively onerous in terms of resources. We foresee a small increase in resources, but also a much more efficient system that works better for us and for the State.