Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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903. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of alternative dispute resolution bodies which have been approved following the transposition of the European Union directive on alternative dispute resolution in 2015; the actions her Department will take to increase coverage of approved alternative dispute resolution bodies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13423/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the designated competent authority in Ireland for the purposes of EU Directive 2013/11/EU of 21 May 2013 on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) which was transposed into Irish law by S.I. No. 343 of 2015. A dispute resolution entity established in this State which intends to qualify as an ADR entity under regulation 7.1 of S.I. No. 343 of 2015 must first notify the CCPC of the information requirements specified in schedule 1 of the S.I. The CCPC which was established as a statutorily independent body under the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 must process the notification request in accordance with the quality criteria specified in the S.I. for dispute resolution entities seeking to be notified as qualified ADR entities to the EU Commission.

The CCPC also has an advocacy role under the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 as well as regulation 5(4)(a) of the S.I. under which they are tasked to raise awareness about ADR procedures among consumer organisations and professional organisations. The European Consumer Centre Ireland is the designated national Online Dispute Resolution contact point in the State under S.I. No. 500 of 2015 pursuant to EU Council Regulation No. 524 of 2013.

To date, one ADR entity has been successfully notified as a qualified entity under the notification procedures operated by the CCPC and a number of applications are under consideration. With regard to the matter of whether a dispute resolution entity chooses to seek qualification as a notified ADR entity under the legislation, this is a decision proper to an individual organisation and neither the CCPC nor my Department have any statutory function to compel dispute resolution entities to undertake the notification process necessary to achieve statutory notification. However, the CCPC affords assistance to dispute resolution entities who indicate their intention to undertake the notification process.