Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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69. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she received the annual report of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission by 30 June 2017 as required under section 30 of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014; if not, the reason for the delay; and when she plans to publish the annual report. [35368/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I received the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s Annual Report for 2016 on 30 June 2017 as required under Section 32 of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014. The report will be laid before each House of the Oireachtas after it has been considered by Government.  In accordance with statutory requirements, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission must arrange for it to be published on its website as soon as practicable after it has been laid.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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70. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to make appointments of members of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, in view of the fact the current membership of only three is the statutory minimum membership and the workload of the CCPC requires a membership of four or five. [35369/17]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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71. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if her attention has been drawn to the fact that there is currently no qualified lawyer on the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, following recent retirements; and if she will prioritise the appointment of a qualified lawyer as a member of the CCPC, as is the norm in all such equivalent competition enforcement agencies in the European Union. [35370/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 70 and 71 together.

Section 12 of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 provides for the membership of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).

Section 12 (3) provides that the membership must consist of a chairperson and such number of other whole-time members, not being less than 2 nor more than 6, as the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation determines and appoints. The CCPC currently has one Chairperson and 2 members. The appointment of another whole-time member will be announced shortly.

Section 12 (8) provides that the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation must appoint a member who in their opinion must possess sufficient expertise in, or experience of, one or more of the following areas, namely law, economics, public administration, consumer affairs or business generally. It is not a statutory requirement that one member must be a qualified lawyer.

As part of its staffing complement, the CCPC currently has 4 Legal Advisors, all qualified lawyers with post qualification experience as a requirement of the position. In addition, there are 7 other staff who are qualified lawyers working across its Divisions.