Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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152. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the average time between unannounced searches by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) where files and evidence are collected, and CCPC receiving permission from the courts to examine the evidence collected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28078/25]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) advised my officials that when it carries out a search and seizes material during the course of a competition law investigation, it does so on foot of a search warrant issued by a District Court judge.

Where the CCPC seizes material during a search, the default position is that it can proceed to open and review the materials seized without a subsequent application to court for permission.

The CCPC informed my officials, that there may be cases where there is a dispute between the CCPC, and the party searched as to whether the CCPC is entitled to review some of the material seized. For instance, a party may claim that some of the material is covered by Legal Professional Privilege (LPP) or is both private and irrelevant to the CCPC’s investigation. There is a statutory process in place to enable claims of LPP to be resolved and determined by the High Court. However, such disputes may also be settled by agreement between the CCPC and the party without the Court being required to make a determination. No such statutory process exists for resolution disputes over whether materials are both private and irrelevant.

Whether the CCPC proceeds to review materials not in dispute in the interim will depend on the nature of materials seized, such as whether it is possible to separate those materials in dispute from those not in dispute pending resolution of the matter.

In light of the various factors above, it is not possible for my Department to provide timelines as requested by the Deputy.