Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this Bill and the power it will give regulators to deal with anti-competitive practices by businesses. The Tánaiste has done a lot of work on this Bill and he has acknowledged that while the vast majority of businesses do not engage in anti-competitive practices, some businesses unfortunately do, be it offences such as bid-rigging, gun-jumping or unwinding certain mergers after they have already been implemented. They happen in business. They happen at the expense of consumers and other businesses, particularly newer and smaller businesses that are more vulnerable to the impact of anti-competitive practices.

Anti-competitive practices drive up costs. They freeze out start-ups and smaller businesses and they can lead to bad quality products and poor services. The last two years have been a very challenging time to be in business, with restrictions, staffing issues, closures, supply chain struggles and financial pressures. Business owners have had a huge amount to deal with. I tip my hat to all the businesses that have survived and those that have thrived in these challenging circumstances. However, when one takes account of the pandemic-related challenges, which many businesses will need some time to recover from, and then adds to that these anti-competitive practices, it creates a difficult environment for business to thrive, especially start-ups and smaller businesses. Therefore, I strongly welcome the steps this Bill is taking to combat those practices.

Giving regulators the powers to administer sanctions has long been sought. It was often said and thought that it could not be done or that it would never happen. However, it is happening now and is being done. For the first time in Irish law, breaches of competition law can be enforced through administrative actions taken by competition authorities, with maximum fines of up to €10 million or 10% of total worldwide turnover, whichever is the greater. This Bill will give agencies the power to enforce competition law much more effectively. It will give them the teeth they need to protect consumers and to crack down on anti-competitive practices. It will also mean that consortia or monopolies will be broken up and organisations abusing their dominant position will be suitably punished. Most importantly, they will be deterred from doing that in the first instance. That is a very positive development for consumers.

On foot of this Bill, there will also be greater European co-operation among EU regulators, with competition authorities across the EU coming together to fight these white-collar crimes on a cross-border basis. This Bill is an important further step in the Government’s efforts to tackle white-collar crime and the troubling impact it can have on its victims and on wider society. It signals a different approach in competition enforcement for Ireland and will complement work that is ongoing to ensure a balanced marketplace with healthy competition. It will ensure our competition authorities have access to the tools they need to protect the interests of customers and businesses.

As we know, this legislation arose from an EU directive which aims to ensure that national competition authorities are guaranteed independence, necessary resources and powers of enforcement.

They would have the power to issue fines for breaches. There should be enhanced investigation and information gathering powers where companies do not co-operate properly with investigations.

I welcome the powers that this will give regulators such as the CCPC, ComReg, and the DPP, as well as the courts. ComReg has welcomed this Bill and deemed it essential for the effective enforcement of competition law. It correctly notes that similar powers have proved to be a significant deterrent against breaches of competition law in other countries, so I welcome that we are following suit. This Bill will be good for businesses, consumers and customers. I welcome the proactive steps it is taking to crack down and discourage anticompetitive practices and white collar crime. I commend both the Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, on all their continued work in this area.

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