Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

Senator Michael Mullins also raised the issue of banking prosecutions. Such prosecutions must be taken under different legislation. The offences are clear. The issue is convicting people of a breach of the law. We know what the offences are.

Senator Leyden raised the issue of below cost selling. It was right to remove the ban because it was a restriction on competition. When the State says something written on an invoice becomes the price that must be paid, it is like the resale price maintenance espoused by the grandfather of Senator Quinn. I would not support reintroducing it on a general basis. Alcohol is a different issue for a different public policy reason than competition. Difficulties remain in enforcement because people produce different products at different cost levels. A measure cannot interfere with the ability of people who can produce something more cheaply being able to take advantage of their superior competitive ability in the marketplace. There will be tricky issues to be negotiated in putting that together.

We will return to the civil issue on Committee Stage. Senator Byrne held Minister Deputy Mary Harney up to criticism for introducing criminal sanctions based on European civil offences. Ironically, many EU member states are looking to Ireland as an exemplar of introducing criminal sanctions in the competition area and regard it as something of a path breaker in how it has addressed the issue. There are two views on that issue.

I do not know who raised the issue of authorised officers from the Competition Authority attending the questioning of suspects. It is being considered in the context of the second Bill.

The debate was very good and showed the full range of views. It is an area in which Ireland has been lax. We need to create a culture of compliance. This will not always involve penalties and fines. Senator Leyden referred to naming and shaming when companies fail to play fair with consumers. Such measures are just as important as the terms of criminal acts.

We can create an environment in which people are much more conscious of the need to be competitive and fair, which does have barriers to entry and which does not assume that professions can regulate the numbers of people entering their codes or just because they are wonderful people should not know what prices are charged for services. The notion of being able to see transparently what prices are charged for a service is an entitlement of any patron, whether one is a plumber or a barrister. We need to create an expectation that the same rules prevail for everyone.

I thank Senators for the debate and look forward to Committee Stage to discuss some issues in greater detail. There is no doubt that with the second competition Bill we will be able to address some of the other issues about which Senators are concerned.