Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 14:

In page 32, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:"(2) The Minister shall, within six months of a report being submitted to him or her by the Commission, outline to each House of the Oireachtas, the actions the Minister has taken following on from any recommendations made in such a report.".

Section 32 outlines the reporting requirements of the new commission. In particular, subsection (3) gives the proposed commission powers to advise the Minister on policy and any matter relating to those functions as he or she may request. The amendment provides that a Minister, within six months of receiving the annual report, would lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas outlining what he or she has done on the trends identified in the report.

As the Minister stated earlier, competition law is evolving quickly. If this organisation is to act with the full teeth that it is being given by the Bill, we need to monitor its performance. Also, if the commission makes recommendations on competition law, we need the Minister to act as appropriately and quickly as possible. This seeks to provide Houses of the Oireachtas oversight of the Minister in this issue.

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