Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I fully appreciate where the Deputy is coming from and what she wants to achieve. I will give her a little context for where we are coming from. The CCPC is a statutory body and the legislation underpinning it gives it statutory functions that give effect to policy. It has a number of functions under section 10 of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014, which include the power to make recommendations to the Government on any matter impacting on consumer protection or competition, making recommendations to the Government on proposals for legislative change concerning consumer protection or competition, and submitting to any Minister proposals for amendment of an enactment, or for a new enactment, concerning consumer protection or competition. Thus for the chair to criticise policy would effectively be to criticise the CCPC’s own statutory functions, although I accept the Deputy is not talking about policy but resources.

Advice is given by the CCPC, and frequently sought by the Minister, in examining policy under the remit of the agency. This is a fundamental tenet of the CCPC as the then Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, noted during the Oireachtas debate when the CCPC was being established in 2014: "The objective here is not to direct the ... [CCPC] in any area where it has independent freedom of movement and its own statutory remit.” The prohibition on commenting on Government policy serves to protect the CCPC's independence in its enforcement functions. The CCPC does not consult with the Department in respect of appearing before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment or before the Committee of Public Accounts. This is part of ensuring the CCPC has full independence in carrying out its statutory duties.