Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this legislation. This is comprehensive and complex legislation which transposes an EU directive, while also making additional changes to benefit the national competition authorities, namely, the CCPC and ComReg. The CCPC is the primary enforcement body for competition law in this State. It has the power to play an enormous role in tackling white-collar crime if it is given the correct powers and is resourced properly. The CCPC investigates suspected anti-competitive practices and tries to bring these damaging practices to an end. As stated, the CCPC can only fulfil this remit if it has the necessary powers. Unfortunately, developments in enforcement mechanisms have left the State out of step with the rest of Europe. In short, the CCPC does not have the necessary powers it needs to tackle adequately a range of anti-competitive practices and white-collar crime. Anyone who followed this legislation during pre-legislative scrutiny stage in the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade, and Employment will know that it has arisen due the European Union's ECN+ directive, which aims to ensure that national competition authorities have guarantees of independence, sufficient resources and appropriate powers of enforcement, including the ability to issue fines.

The inability of Irish national competition authorities, such as the CCPC, to impose administrative fines was identified by the European Commission as a concern and part of the divergence in national powers that led to uneven enforcement of EU competition rules. As a result, the State has been compelled by the European ECN+ directive to implement legislative changes to ensure the CCPC has the appropriate tools and resources to enforce EU competition law in a consistent manner with other EU member states. The implications for customers of the inability of the CCPC to issue fines was writ large today with the news that six car insurers and a brokers' trade body will not be fined or face any legal action, despite findings from the CCPC of alleged behaviour that negatively impacted consumers. The CCPC alleged the firms engaged in anti-competitive price signalling over a 21-month period, from 2015 to 2016, leading to premiums rising for consumers. The alleged anti-competitive co-operation consisted of public announcements of future private motor insurance premium rises, as well as other contacts between competitors. In its report that was published earlier this week, the CCPC stated that it did not have the power to issue fines to the companies. Elements of this Bill will thankfully rectify that. It is unfortunate that the European Union has had to compel the State to act in the interests of Irish consumers. The directive introduces minimum standards in relation to the enforcement of competition law at a national level and harmonises the resources, powers and tools available to national competition authorities. Of particular note in this regard, are the introduction of civil sanctions for breaches of competition law and a leniency programme for businesses that come forward with evidence of a breach of competition law.

The provisions for substantial fines and improved investigative powers as well as improved institutional co-operation are also very important. The Bill provides a significant opportunity for change and will enable the CCPC to be more effective for the benefit of consumers, businesses and the economy as a whole. It includes provisions for maximum fines of up to €10 million or 10% of total worldwide turnover for breaches of competition law. The Bill will allow the CCPC for the first time to fine companies for breaches of competition law such as cartels, bid-rigging and abusive market practices. It will also encourage whistleblowing on secret cartels by offering reductions in fines to companies that provide evidence against other cartel members. Such powers have already proved to be a significant deterrent against breaches of competition law in other EU states. Currently, Ireland is one of a very small number of European countries that allow a company to be fined only if a court finds there has been a breach proven to a criminal standard. Through the transposition of the EU directive in the Bill, fines will now be allowed to be imposed for breaches of Irish and EU competition law on an administrative basis.

The legislation also pertains to ComReg, which likewise can only deliver on its remit if it is empowered and funded to so do. The area of communications regulation has increased in importance through the years. If the ECN+ directive is not implemented as intended, then ComReg, just like the CCPC, will continue to have its hands tied. There are areas of legislation that need to be strengthened to achieve this and Sinn Féin intends to propose amendments to achieve that.

The ability for the CCPC to act is grounded in its statutory powers and, therefore, it is essential that those laws provide the CCPC with the right enforcement tools to effectively deter, detect and address white-collar crime relating to competition law. Along with legislative changes, there is a need for additional financing, resources and powers in order to help the CCPC and ComReg in investigating and tackling white-collar crime. The lack of legislation to tackle corporate and economic crime, as well as the underfunding and under-resourcing of the agencies investigating white-collar crime, has been de facto Government policy for decades. More than a decade and three successive Governments later, the appetite to legislate, regulate and properly tackle corporate and economic crime is far weaker than it ought to be. Would the House even be legislating for this if it was not being forced on us by the European Union? It is more than three years since the Central Bank called for a senior executive accountability regime codified in legislation. However, there has been no urgency by two successive Governments to bring that forward. It is for this reason that the casino capitalism that caused the banking crash still exists in the protected and gilded world of high finance.

The ever-unfolding events and allegations of malpractice in respect of high finance, insurance, public procurement and building development to name but a few serve as a reinforcement that this Government does not see white-collar crime in the same way that it sees blue-collar and other crime. At pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill, the CCPC stated that international estimates from the OECD suggest the rate of overcharge in public procurement is between 20% and 30%. The chairperson of the CCPC stated:

Considering annual State spending of approximately €16 billion on goods and services, if even 1% of it was subject to price fixing or bid rigging, a surcharge of 20% or 30% would be a substantial sum of money.

What is even more infuriating is that in 2007 the accounting firm RSM Robson Rhodes estimated Ireland was losing €2.5 billion a year from economic crime. If that figure is applied to the past 15 years, that is a potential loss of more than €37 billion to the Irish economy.

The economic and social costs of corruption and white-collar crime far outweigh other forms of crime. Despite corporate and economic crime bringing the State to its knees just a decade ago, the area consistently receives far less funding, resources and political attention from successive governments. The same goes for media coverage of white-collar crime, where it is painted as almost not a crime at all. This legislation is a good start, along with the Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Act 2021 which established a stand-alone Corporate Enforcement Authority, but resources and funding must follow.

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