Mr. Jeremy Godfrey:

I thank the Deputy. His first question was about awareness of the commission. We certainly believe it could be raised higher. We are doing some work on how best to do that. We are planning a number of campaigns for this year to inform consumers about their rights. Those campaigns will also raise awareness of our existence.

On the question of resources, like anybody else we can always have vacancies and sometimes we struggle to fill them. The labour market has been quite buoyant. We are in constant communication with our Department about what resources we believe we might night. Again, that is always set in the context of other pressures on Government expenditure. It is an ongoing conversation that we have.

The Deputy asked about warnings given to trade associations and companies about discussing price intentions. Price signalling is also a breach of competition law. Rather than having a complete agreement on what prices to charge, companies may, through public statements, signal to one another or trade associations about intentions. In normal circumstances, a company considering increasing its prices may think there is a bit of a risk if it increases prices and its competitors do not follow. If a trade association states that everybody will have to increase prices, the competitive risk would be reduced. That is why price signalling is harmful to competition. Sometimes people do this without having particular ill intentions. Often, we like to give people a warning when we see it in order that it does not happen again.

The Deputy asked whether collusion was difficult to prove. Yes, it can be difficult to prove and good evidence is necessary. The Deputy talked about observing prices that were different in two towns. The process we would go through as a law enforcement agency starts with having suspicion and assessing things. Then we would get into more detailed evidence gathering, eventually potentially leading to prosecution. The situation the Deputy described of observing unusual price patterns is not a smoking gun but it is maybe smoke. That is how I would characterise it.

On the Competition (Amendment) Bill, it has not yet gone through all Stages in the Oireachtas, so I cannot tell the Deputy how it is working. We are very pleased with the powers that Act will contain when it is passed.