Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

First, I apologise for the absence of our party’s spokesperson, Senator Crowe, for whom I am deputising.We are very happy to support this Bill, which is part of the Minister of State's legislative programme and an area of priority. It speaks to the fact that we believe that where there is fair competition, it will benefit the consumer. Fianna Fáil, as a pro-business party and party in government, believes it is important to support business while at the same time ensuring a level playing field for everyone competing within the sector. In that sense, I am heartened by the fact that this legislation strengthens the role of the CCPC. At times, we need — dare I say it — to stand up against the erosion of bureaucracy. People sometimes give out about red tape but we need to have standards to ensure competition and fair trade, in addition to sufficiently strong regulators with qualified staff and sufficient powers and resources to tackle the problem.

We are aware and have seen evidence of cartels operating in certain sectors in recent times. The CCPC has done a lot of work to try to tackle that. We have got to be able to ensure consumers are getting the best value, which is achieved by ensuring fair competition.

I note that much emphasis is placed on fines for those who engage in unlawful practices. I am a big supporter of levying extensive fines but the problem is that many companies measure fines against the potential profit that might be gained from engaging in unlawful activity or in a cartel and then simply write the fines off as business costs. We cannot have circumstances in which companies are asking whether they will make a lot of money if they take a risk, making it worthwhile to bear the brunt of the fines. Therefore, it is important that those who willingly and recklessly engage in anti-competitive behaviour be held personally responsible. Directors of companies that engage in behaviour that is not in the interest of the consumer should be personally held to account. That would include prison sentences.

While it is important to consider giving the CCPC more power, particularly to tackle cartels, that in itself will not automatically mean more competition. Let me refer to one of the problems in several sectors of our society, including insurance, banking and financial services. One could certainly say that, in theory, there is no cartel and that there is insufficient competition simply because, in many cases, there are too few players in the market. As the Minister of State has committed to, we need to consider a whole-of-government approach to competition. The Central Bank has no role in ensuring competition. Therefore, it has no role in insurance, financial and banking services. We know that, in Ireland, we are paying some of the highest prices for our banking, financial and insurance products, partly because of the lack of competition. We are aware that players are leaving the market. This is not necessarily because of a cartel. The way to ensure greater competition is to ensure all our regulators regard the matter as a priority. While this legislation is very welcome, it does not address some of the problems concerning the lack of competition in the market, as opposed to anti-competitive practices.

That said, this is very positive legislation. The challenge concerns how we measure and ensure that when the Bill is enacted, the CCPC will have sufficient resources to tackle any suspected incidents of anti-competitive practice, bribery and so on. We must also ensure that those engaged in those practices are held responsible. In that regard, I am very happy to strongly support the Bill. I thank the Minister of State and his officials for all their work in bringing it to this stage.