Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Regarding this section, why has the proposed authority not been asked to advise the Minister or the Government on policy developments in this area? It would be a normal sort of thing to put into the functions, although there is a possibility for the Minister to ask for such advice.

Returning to the comment made by Deputy O'Reilly earlier, there are different types of authority. The Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, is a one-person authority for enforcement, while the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CPCC, is a three-person authority to undertake enforcement. I understand that the CPCC ensures that expertise in different areas is brought to bear. There is merit therefore in having a group consisting of three people with different areas of expertise but nonetheless undertaking collective decision-making. Is the model envisaged here a one-person authority, like the DPP, or is the Minister of State considering, in the more medium term, the use of the flexibility which exists to have three members on this authority and to go for an arrangement like that which exists in the CPCC? Like Deputy O’Reilly, I see some merit in multiple members rather than just one and it would be interesting to hear from the Minister of State on the thinking behind the sort of model envisaged in this regard. There are different models and I do not know when some are more satisfactory or operate better than others.

This proposed legislation is welcome. We have missed a beat in not having an authority which is strong enough and appropriately resourced. This Bill will be an important element in addressing that issue. I am glad to see that the Bill recognises that the proposed authority will be accountable to this committee. It will be important that we keep tabs on what is happening in this area because it represents oversight of the ethics by which business is conducted.