Mark Dearey (Green Party)

I welcome the Minister of State. I was slightly distracted from the main theme of the debate by Senator Quinn's comments on the carbon tax, to which I may return in a few minutes.

The Bill, which amends the Competition Act 2002, has been forced on us by circumstances, some of which were mentioned by Senator Quinn. There is difficulty in maintaining a board in these times when scrutiny is rightly of the highest order and when the responsibility that goes with holding such a position is of an onerous nature. We probably need a wider debate which would encompass the area of staffing of boards of authorities and State agencies.

What strikes me about this Bill is that the Competition Authority has powers that are devolved from those of the European Union and assigned to national competition bodies across the EU. Thus, there is a European perspective to this, namely, the imperative for us to have an authority that is in good standing should it be in a position in which it must use its powers to examine mergers or initiate criminal proceedings for offences relating to anti-competitive behaviour. If we were to initiate such criminal proceedings, only to find, on appeal, that our competition authority was not properly constituted, this would have major reverberations not only here but in terms of its effect on our good name in Europe, and would be acutely embarrassing. There is no question that the Bill is urgent.

I am not entirely clear about references to the 2002 Act not envisaging this situation. This is where we are and it is important we deal with the issue as quickly as possible. As the Minister of State said, it is in the context of a more substantial Bill that will be introduced later with a view to merging the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority.

The issue of appointments is a cause for public concern. I should declare that as a councillor, I was appointed by a Minister to the board of An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, so I have been a beneficiary of the system that exists.