Ms Clare McNamara:

The Department's policy in this area, first and foremost, was that we did not want differentiation of treatment between sanctions for breaches of EU law versus sanctions for breaches of Irish law. This was often because when an investigation is commenced by the competition authority, it does not necessarily know if there is a cross-border effect on what it is investigating. The constitutional question arises because of the particular role of the courts in Irish law and the fact that there is a clearly defined principle in Irish law regarding the administration of justice and who has the role in the administration of justice. In that context, the constitutional question has impacted on the decisions we have made in terms of policy related to the role of the courts. We want to see court confirmation of finds, regardless of whether it is a fine for a breach of EU competition law or of Irish competition law. There will be court confirmation of the fines, or that is what is envisaged.