Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister to the House. It is appropriate to discuss the Competition (Amendment) Bill 2011 at a time when competition is the word on everybody's lips and we are a little more competitive than we have been for many years. We need to continue to remain competitive in all aspects of business if we are to bring about economic recovery in the years ahead.

The Bill is designed to strengthen the enforcement of competition law in Ireland. Breaching competition law is a white collar crime and the punishment should fit the crime. It is regrettable that we have seen many examples of white collar crime in the past decade, with very few people ending up behind bars. Contrast that with what happens in America. Very shortly after the Lehman Brothers debacle, we saw several high ranking banking officials behind bars. We experienced a similar situation and to date we have seen nobody brought to book or made to pay the price for reckless decisions which have devastated the lives of so many in this country.

This Bill will provide a deterrent to cartel price fixing, through abuse of the dominant position and other anti-competitive practices. I am astounded that since 2002 there have been only 32 criminal convictions for price fixing. These high profile cases were in the home heating oil business and car dealerships in Leinster. The victims of price fixing are the ordinary people of Ireland, the people who are trying to heat their homes during a period of escalating oil prices or people who drive cars. We need to take a tough approach. I agree with Members on the other side of the House that we are not taking a tough enough approach. I hope that when the Bill is passed, the Minister will keep the enacted legislation under constant review to ensure it remains fit for purpose as time goes by. We have seen examples where competition works well, the airline industry is one example. If it were not for Ryanair, we would still be required to pay what people regarded as a small mortgage to go to see their relatives in England. The private bus operators were mentioned also and they operate very efficiently and effectively in County Galway. Let me contrast that service with the dominant position, where there is no competition, of Irish Rail. It costs twice or two and a half times as much to make any journey from Galway by train as it does by bus. Senator Burke referred earlier to the situation in the health insurance market. We must stamp out uncompetitive practices.

I commend the Minister on the actions he has taken to date. People who are indulging in uncompetitive practices and are in breach of the law will take heed that the Government is serious about stamping out such practices. I implore the Minister not to leave this Bill as a finished product. We need to keep this under constant review and continue to focus on where there are breaches and where we need to strengthen the legislation. I commend the Minister on the work he has done to date. He has honoured a commitment that was made in the programme for Government and, while it might fall short of what some people on the other side of the House are looking for, I have no doubt it will go a long way in addressing this major issue.