Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am aware that the previous Competition Authority sent observations to the Taxi Regulator indicating that it believed that certain practices were anti-consumer. It also sent observations to the National Transport Authority on liberalisation of the bus market. As far as I can see the advices from the Competition Authority were ignored. I raised some of those at the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications with the proponents of preventing competition and asked them how they would respond to the Competition Authority and the attitude was "What do you expect?"

The consumer will be extremely weak if producer bodies dominate regulatory bodies for individual sectors. It is important in the Minister’s discussions with the new body, the competition and consumer protection commission, that he makes it clear it does not opt out of the tackle after the first response from producer groups. Producer groups are extremely powerful, organised and achieve regulatory capture while consumers are disparate, badly organised and can be easily crushed. By combining competition and consumer protection, I hope the new body will take up the cudgel against producer dominance. For instance, when the Irish Water legislation was going through the House, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government refused amendments to allow any role for the National Consumer Agency or that the Competition Authority should look at an industry which was being monopolised. The consumer lobby, strengthened by this legislation, must be willing to lock horns and not just send in a submission which will be ignored.

I am sure the Minister will share the aspiration that the body will stay in longer to battle consumers’ interests. The House is at one on the need for stronger protections for consumers in sectors where producers call the tune while regulators dance the merry dance.