Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I stand to be corrected but in the District Court there is an upper limit on damages of €7,000, which is a low threshold given the nature of complaints that could be made in this context. Of course I will reflect on the issues Senator Coghlan raised in the context of the amendments. The Bill will not come before the Dáil until February so there will be an opportunity for reflection. Some of the issues revolve around language, definitions and so on.

We intend to bring legislation to the Oireachtas next year to establish the national consumer agency on a statutory basis. Its prime focus will be on representing the consumer through advocacy, research and the provision of information in a much more robust way than has previously been the case. The Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs has existing powers and we have to work through some issues in that regard. The Bill will be substantial as we will also codify and consolidate all consumer law and transpose European consumer law.

I took steps in the recent Estimates to substantially increase funding for the Competition Authority, particularly its cartel unit. In effect, it is sufficient to create a new division within the Competition Authority to address cartels in the economy. I had discussions with the outgoing chairman of the Competition Authority who indicated that this area was absorbing a great deal of the energy of existing staff because of the long and arduous process involved in prosecuting these cases, some of which are taking years. I decided to seek a significant increase in funding for this area in response to the presentations made to me by the outgoing chairman. We succeeded in getting an increase in the Estimates which will enhance the capacity of the Competition Authority to go after cartels in the economy.