Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Broughan for raising this very important issue.

One of the principal statutory functions of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is to investigate breaches of EU and Irish competition law, that is, Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and sections 4 and 5 of the Competition Act 2002. At the conclusion of an investigation into a suspected breach of Irish or EU competition law, the CCPC may form the view that an infringement of either section 4 or section 5 of the Competition Act 2002 or, if relevant, Article 101 or Article 102 has occurred.

EU Directive 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018, to empower the competition authorities of the member states to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market, was published in the EU's Official Journal on 14 January 2019. The directive, known as the ECN+ directive, must be transposed by 4 February 2021. It will give the CCPC additional enforcement powers and will herald the introduction of non-criminal fines for breaches of EU competition law.

I am also aware that the Law Reform Commission made recommendations for additional powers for regulatory bodies in its report on regulatory powers and corporate offences in November 2018. We are considering the recommendations of this report, including those related to administrative financial sanctions, in the context of the transposition of the ECN+ directive.

I believe it will be necessary to transpose the directive by primary legislation, given the necessity of the introduction of a new system of financial sanctions for non-criminal breaches of EU law.

I emphasise that further additional powers are under consideration alongside the transposition of the directive. The transposition of the directive will result in the strengthening of the tools at the disposal of the CCPC for future competition law enforcement in Ireland.

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