Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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It does have the power. As the Deputy quite rightly stated, a substantial number of complaints have been submitted to the CCPC. They were put on the record of the Oireachtas committee and raised in the CCPC's correspondence with me. The Deputy said she met the representatives of the commission and that they are analysing the complaints. If the commission feels that complaints are valid, it has the power to explore them further. I encourage anybody with evidence that substantiates or supports the work of the CCPC to come forward with it. This Bill will give the CCPC additional powers so that if it finds companies engaging in uncompetitive behaviour, be it in the energy sector, insurance sector or any other, it will have for the first time the capacity to impose administrative sanctions. A very welcome development in the directive and legislation, which I hope we will enact in the coming weeks, is that there will be a leniency provision. This will give comfort to somebody in the sector with in-depth knowledge to come forward and assist the CCPC in doing its work. When somebody in a sector exposes a matter or acts as a whistleblower, we can really get to the bottom of things. This Bill will be very beneficial to the CCPC. At present, the CCPC can conduct further analysis if it deems it warranted.