Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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5. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the date on which he will progress the Competition (Amendment) Bill 2021 in view of the fact that a European Union directive related to same must be transposed by the State in early 2022. [62118/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Competition (Amendment) Bill will include provisions to facilitate the transposition of the EU’s “ECN+ Directive” into Irish law and will represent a step change in competition enforcement for Ireland.

The Bill is included as a priority in the Programme for Government and my officials have been working intensively with the Attorney General and his officials on developing a draft Bill. The legislation will break new ground in Irish law introducing, among other things, administrative sanctions for breaches of competition law. In so far as possible, it will create a uniform regime for dealing with breaches at EU level and domestically. This will provide clarity to businesses and stakeholders. This approach also introduces legislative complexity as the legislation must transpose the ECN+ directive while respecting the particularities of Ireland's legal system including constitutional considerations especially in light of the Zalewski judgement. For these reasons, the drafting has required careful consideration throughout.

I am hoping to receive, shortly, a draft Bill after which I intend to bring to Government at the earliest opportunity. Subject to Government approval, my ambition is for the Bill to be introduced to the Oireachtas as it resumes in January.