Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"notes:

—the importance to a successful fast growing economy of the effective and independent enforcement of competition law so as to prevent the emergence of anti-competitive practices, restrictions on the freedom to trade and barriers to entry in all sectors of the economy;

—that the enactment of the Competition Act 2002 substantially increased the powers and independence of the Competition Authority and provided Ireland with one of the most modern bodies of competition law in the world;

—that the Competition Act 2002 provides the Garda Síochána with powers of arrest and detention in respect of competition offences, as well as making provision for financial penalties of up to €4 million, or 10% of turnover, for breaches of competition law;

—the doubling of the resources available to the Competition Authority in the past five years and the continuing ongoing review in conjunction with the authority of the resource demands arising out of the increased level of activity in the economy;

—the highly complex and resource intensive nature of criminal proceedings for breaches of competition law;

—the determination of the authority to seek criminal convictions for competition offences where it believes such is justified but also its track record in securing voluntary compliance with the provisions of competition law;

—the existence, as a result of powers available to the authority under the Competition Act 2002, of co-operation agreements with other statutory sectoral regulators with a view to guaranteeing effective competition in those sectors of the economy;

—the entitlement of any individual or organisation who becomes aware of anti-competitive practices in the economy to bring complaints in regard to such activities to the attention of the authority;

—the restrictions that would be imposed on the authority as a result of the creation of statutory deadlines for the investigation of such complaints;

—the powers and functions of the authority under the Competition Act 2002 to study and analyse competitive practices, to investigate any breaches of the Act and any complaints in regard to such breaches, to advise the Government of the implications of any new legislation for competition in goods and services, to publish guidance on compliance with the Act, to carry on such activities as it considers appropriate to inform the public of issues concerning competition and to disclose to the Garda Síochána any information relating to the commission of an offence whether under the Act or otherwise; and

—that the practice of predatory pricing is prohibited under section 5 of the Competition Act 2002 and that the substantial penalties provided for under the Act operate as a very convincing deterrent against engaging in such activity;

calls for:

—the reaffirmation of confidence in the independence, determination and resources of the authority to rigorously enforce competition law;

—the rejection of proposals to introduce any measures which might inhibit the powers and functions of the authority in that regard; and

urges all individuals and organisations to report instances of suspected anti-competitive practices and breaches of the Competition Act 2002 to the authority with a view to ensuring their speedy investigation."

I wish to share time with Deputies Curran and McGuinness.

The bulk of my speech is concerned with the Competition Authority, the subject matter of the motion. Had I known there would be a broad economic debate, a debate on the economic performance of the Government——

See this speech in context