Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

239. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide further powers to ComReg to allow the regulator to bring civil as well as criminal cases where necessary. [39309/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg),  established pursuant to the provisions of the Communications Regulation Act 2002 (as amended) is the statutory independent regulator of the electronic communications and postal markets.  In addition, ComReg is empowered to investigate suspected breaches of competition law in respect of electronic communications and related services. Extant legislation already provides recourse by ComReg to the District Court in respect of summary offences and the High Court in respect of the imposition of civil penalties.  Provision is also made in respect of certain offences to be prosecuted on indictment. However, as a matter of law such offences can only be prosecuted at the suit of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

As part of the Law Reform Commission's Fourth Programme of Law Reform, the Commission is considering a wide range of questions concerning two related matters. The first is whether the supervisory and enforcement powers of the State’s main financial and economic regulators are adequate or need to be supplemented by, for example, civil financial sanctions and more effective co-ordination between regulators. The second is whether there are gaps in the criminal law that do not deal sufficiently with serious wrongdoing by corporate bodies, in particular regarding current fraud legislation and the general rules for attributing criminal liability to corporate bodies.

As part of this process, in January of this year the Commission published an Issues Paper entitled ' Regulatory Enforcement and Corporate Offences (LRC IP 8-2016). Contributors were requested to make their submissions/comments in response to this Issues Paper before close of business on the 20th of April 2016.

Another part of this process was the Commission’s 2016 annual conference on Thursday 3rd November 2016 at St George’s Hall, Dublin Castle, Dublin 2, which was themed ‘Regulatory Powers and Corporate Offences’.

The Commission is currently in the process of reviewing the submissions received in response to the Issues Paper and engaging in further research in relation to the topics outlined in that paper.

It is currently intended that the Report on this project, which will include final recommendations and draft legislation, will be published next year.

I await with interest the outcome of the Report and I will consider the position at that point.