Áine Collins (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

I thank the House for the opportunity to speak on the Bill and I commend the Bill to the House.

One of the core problems affecting our economy has been a lack of competitiveness. I am very glad that recent figures show improvements in the past six months. A key element in restoring our economy to growth is to continue to improve our competitiveness.

During the boom years, excessive credit and excessive activity in the building sector led to a huge increase in personal and household income. This led to far less vigilance by the general public and excessive prices were paid for a wide range of goods and services. While incomes have dropped considerably, charges in other protected sectors have remained high. Higher prices lead to new wage demands in the future. Higher wages make the country less attractive to inward investment and slow export growth, which is a central and most important element in our recovery.

The troika of the EU, IMF and ECB have put considerable obligations on us to reduce our budget deficit and resolve our banking crisis. It has also put equal emphasis on the necessity to make structural reforms with the clear objective of increasing competitiveness. This includes action on specific services including legal services and GP and medical expenses. The EU and IMF identified specific services that were way out of line with the countries we are competing with across the world. Apart from these protected areas, the general expectation of large profits across all sectors, which was evident during the boom, must be curtailed.

We must encourage new indigenous businesses and create a competitive environment for them to set up and grow. By strengthening competition law enforcement, this Bill will help create a level playing field for all businesses and benefit both consumers and businesses alike. This item of legislation is a central plank in our economic recovery. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, realises the importance of getting results quickly in this area and is introducing very heavy penalties. The main provisions of the Bill include an increase from five to ten years in the maximum prison sentence, large increases in fines, and that a body convicted of competition offences may have to pay costs of its investigation and it will be possible for the first time to disqualify a person convicted of indictable competition offences from being a company director. Also, a person convicted of certain competition offences will not be eligible for probation and it will be easier for private individuals affected by anti-competitive practices to prove an action for damages against a cartelist once public enforcement proceedings have successfully been taken. This legislation means that price fixers, cartels and those involved in white collar crime will face tougher jail sentences of up to ten years. This stronger deterrent can only be good for consumers and businesses. The harsher sentencing regime is being imposed after Ireland was ordered to toughen enforcement of competition rules by the EU-IMF team.

Most importantly, the changes will make it easier for ordinary people and small businesses to make claims against companies found guilty of price fixing. The message must get across to the business community that price fixing harms the economy as a whole and will not be tolerated in the future. Consumers must be convinced that this legislation, when properly enforced, will reduce the cost of living. When achieved, these objectives will benefit the whole economy.

We must be continually vigilant; especially in growth areas, that inflation does not creep in. In recent years the farming sector has been doing well after many difficult years. In good times, as we saw during the building boom, there is a tendency to increase the price of inputs. This will erode competitiveness, restrict expansion and have a devastating effect in any downturn for the agriculture industry. The haulage area can also be examined now. As an export country, most of our goods are exported on roads. People now buy diesel abroad rather than here because of rebates and the cost of diesel here. I hope to bring a more detailed view on this in the next couple of weeks.

As has been identified by the EU and IMF, this comprehensive legislation on competition is long overdue but the mere introduction of legislation is not enough. Laws and regulations must be strictly enforced and the general public and businesses affected by anti-competitive practices must be encouraged to take action. The Department and Minister have undertaken to review the implementation of the legislation and I have no doubt this will be done under the Minister's supervision as well as under the watchful eye of the EU and IMF in the coming years. It is important to recognise that as a nation we took our eye off the ball during the boom years. This cannot be allowed to happen in the future. I therefore commend the Bill to the House.

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