Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 6, before section 5, to insert the following new section:

5.—Section 30 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (1) the following:

"(1B) Where, following an investigation under this Act into an action, it appears to the Authority that the action adversely affected a person or contravenes section 4(1) or section 5(1) of this Act, the Authority may recommend to the Department of State concerned—

(a) that the matter in relation to which the action was taken be further considered,

(b) that measures or specified measures be taken to remedy, mitigate or alter the adverse affect of the action, or

(c) that the reasons for taking the action be given to the Authority, and, if the Authority thinks fit to do so, it may request the Department of State to notify the Authority within a specified time of the Department of State's response to the recommendation.".".

Beidh muid ag déanamh cuid de na pointí céanna a rinne muid roimhe seo. Tá cuid mhaith den tuairimíocht céanna i gceist. I bprionsabal, tá Sinn Féin ar son an Bhille atá á thabhairt chun cinn. Ní dóigh linn go dtéann an reachtaíocht sách fada. I ndáiríre, ní rachfaidh an Bille i ngleic leis na mbunfhadhbanna iomaíochta atá againn sa tír seo. Rinne mé léiriú ar an méid sin nuair a labhair mé ar na leasuithe eile roimhe seo. Níl aon dabht faoi ná go bhfuil fadhbanna iomaíochta againn. Tá grúpaí atá ag feidhmiú sa tír seo - faoi rún nó go hoscailte - ag socrú praghsanna, ag brú daoine amach as gnó agus ag diúltú ar cothrom na féinne a thabhairt do chomhlachtaí beaga.

We are, undoubtedly, facing serious difficulties in regard to competitiveness, as discussed. An issue not yet referred to is the low-cost sale of alcohol in supermarkets which is having a detrimental impact on local shops and pubs. There are also issues for the hospitality industry, with hotel bedrooms, for instance, being sold at prices which make it almost impossible for smaller, family-run businesses to compete. An industry that has never been tackled by the Competition Authority is the concrete industry. Incidentally, a former chairman of the authority, Dr. John Fingleton, who is now working in a similar role in Britain has been very critical of its approach as not going far enough.

We have had a broad discussion in this House on civil penalties, which is another issue to consider. They have been introduced in Britain, as I understand it, where civil and criminal cases can run in parallel. A headline case was taken recently against British Airways, for instance, which resulted in a multi-million pound settlement for the individual citizen who took it. If such a system can operate in Britain, surely we can introduce a similar regime in this country. We are all in favour of the imposition of civil penalties, where possible, because criminal penalties do not seem to be working, as evidenced by the fact that we have had 32 convictions, but nobody has ended up behind bars in 21 years. That record is not much of a disincentive to multi-million pound cartels and golden circles - call them what one may - to indulge in anti-competitive practices. I expect the Minister of State will probably respond to my proposal with the standard line on advice from the Attorney General. Will he outline the rationale in this regard? Is it based on the level of the fine? If so and if the level of the fine was reduced in a civil case scenario, would that serve to overcome the constitutional impediment? Assuming that is the case, it might well be the route we should pursue.

Whenever the Government and the troika talk about competitiveness, there always seems to be an associated assault on low-paid workers. This is something to which my party is completely opposed. While bona fide traders will always be willing to pay a decent wage for a decent day's work, some of the larger multinational companies, in particular, can sometimes force the competitiveness issue, which leads to calls from unscrupulous employers for reductions in the pay of workers at the lower end of the scale. Sinn Féin does not buy into this. Many of the difficulties in regard to competitiveness are a result not of wage pressures but of other issues such as upward-only rent reviews. Most of the business people to whom I have spoken who are finding it difficult to trade identify the inability to renegotiate their rental agreement as one of the most significant factors.

We welcome the Bill as a step in dealing with the issues that undermine competitiveness, but, unfortunately, it does not go far enough. Cartels will continue to abuse their market dominance and thus undermine the economy. I could not let Senator Jimmy Harte's comments on the retention of the Border go without some comment. It is the most ludicrous argument I have heard for retaining partition that an all-Ireland economy would increase the scope for cartels. That is an absolutely preposterous scenario to bring forward. On the contrary, the opposite would be the case. For most of the businesses such as the Senator's own which deal in the Border region, a 32 county economy would lead to a reduction in the volume of paperwork because they would be dealing with one jurisdiction instead of two. Many of the Senator's Government colleagues have commented on the lower cost of petrol and diesel in the North. In an all-Ireland economy there would be scope to harmonise these costs and even to argue for a smaller Government take on motor fuels. There would be only one Executive, perhaps one Seanad and one Dáil, which would lead to substantial savings on an all-island basis. This might be one of the arguments for the retention of the Seanad, that we could amalgamate it-----