Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 54: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the work of the Competition Authority during 2006 to date; the cases brought by the Competition Authority that are currently before the Courts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32047/06]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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This question relates to the day-to-day work of the Competition Authority. The Authority is an independent statutory agency responsible for the enforcement of competition law in the State. Its mandate and functions are set out in the Competition Act 2002 as amended and, accordingly, I have no direct functional responsibility in the matter.

Section 42 of the 2002 Act provides that the Authority shall publish an annual report of its activities within two months of the end of each financial year. The Authority's Annual Report for 2005 was published and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in February 2006.

In addition, under Section 38(2) of the Competition Act, the Authority's Chairperson is obliged to appear, whenever required, before the Committee of Public Accounts in relation to the Comptroller and Auditor General's annual report on the Competition Authority's audited accounts. The Chairperson is also required, under Section 38(4), to attend before any other committee of the Oireachtas as required.

The Authority, through the Director of Public Prosecutions, has secured a number of criminal convictions for breaches of competition law so far this year. These are the first criminal convictions on indictment for competition law offences in Ireland and in Europe. While I am aware, from media reports, that a number of further criminal cases are pending, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on matters which are currently before the courts.