Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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10. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she has considered empowering the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to issue civil fines for anti-competitive practices. [49597/17]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister outline any proposals she may have to empower the Competition and consumer Protection Commission to issue civil fines for anti-competitive practices? I am thinking in particular of ticketing practices in the concert sector and of practices in the insurance industry.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I will try to take the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's advice on board.

I thank the Deputy for his question. The current legal position is that civil fines are not provided for in Irish law for anti-competitive practices. My Department obtained advice on the issue of civil fines from the Office of the Attorney General to the effect that civil fines are not provided for in Irish law for anti-competitive practices having regard to Article 38.1 of the Constitution, which provides that no person shall be tried on any criminal charge save in due course of law. In that context, any national legislation to introduce civil fines that would lower the burden of proof from beyond reasonable doubt to the balance of probability would pose constitutional difficulties having regard to the protection afforded under Article 38.1.

On 22 March 2017, the European Commission published a proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council to empower the competition authorities of the member states to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the Internal Market. One of the aims of the directive is to ensure that all national competition authorities are able to impose effective deterrent fines. The proposal is currently being debated at the Council working group on competition and is also being considered by the European Parliament.

I am aware that the Law Reform Commission published an Issues Paper entitled Regulatory Enforcement and Corporate Offences on 27 January 2016. The Issues Paper invited views on the enforcement powers of the State’s main financial and economic regulators, including the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, and the issue of administrative and civil fines was raised. I understand the CCPC made a submission to the Law Reform Commission on 19 September 2017, in response to the Issues Paper, requesting the power to levy such fines. With respect to any recommendations or proposals that may emanate from this exercise in due course, we will carefully consider them in the Department.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State has not outlined what his view is on this matter. Do he believe the CCPC should be empowered with financial sanctions? Some of our other regulations such as the Central Bank of Ireland, the Commission for Energy Regulation or the Data Protection Commissioner have powers to impose a financial sanction, yet this regulator does not. It is high time we seriously examined this matter. The Minister of State has cited to us on a number of occasions when we have raised this matter the constitutional issue but no more than the lack of regulations covering the gift voucher industry, which we conversed about earlier, it is the consumer who is ultimately losing out. What is the Minister of State's own take on this issue? Is he in favour of such a measure or will he merely coast along and allow another consultation process to drift on. We have had numerous comments, as the Minister of State will know, from the Attorney General on the constitutional prohibition in regard to it. Is the Minister of State in favour or not in favour of such a measure?

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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To follow up on my initial reply, it is important that we take on board the views on this matter. There are two areas concerned. The proposal currently being debated by the Council's working group and the European Commission has to be considered by the European Parliament. At this stage it is impossible for us to say what format the final EU measures will take. We must also bear in mind that the CCPC had made a submission to the Law Reform Commission on the area of the levy of fines. The main argument in regard to all this is with respect to Article 38.1 of the Constitution. We are listening to the debate in Europe and as soon as recommendations or proposals that may emanate from the Law Reform Commission's exercise come through, we will consider those in due course.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Does Deputy Niall Collins have a further supplementary?

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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No, that is fine.