Vol. 538 No. 1
57 Mr. D'Arcy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the Competition Authority has had to postpone a number of searches into potential abuses of competition law due to a lack of resources. [17277/01]
81 Mr. Finucane asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will confirm that members of An Garda Síochána are available to assist at all times with officials of the Competition Authority in the discharge of the authority's functions; and if she will make a statement on the precise arrangement between An Garda Síochána and the Competition Authority for certain missions. [17273/01]
104 Mr. Connaughton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she is satisfied that the Competition Authority has sufficient resources to fulfil its statutory obligations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17278/01]
I propose to answer Questions Nos. 57, 81 and 104 together.
The level of staffing resources of the Competition Authority is kept under continuous review by my Department in close consultation with the authority. In the period since the enactment of the Competition (Amendment) Act, 1996, the total authorised staff level of the authority has increased from about 17 to the present level of 29. Arising from a review carried out by Deloitte & Touche, I propose to increase this number by 15 to 44, a level which I am satisfied will be sufficient for the authority's statutory responsibilities going forward.
The authority has in the past experienced difficulties in retaining staff but the situation has improved considerably over the past year mainly as a result of improvements in staff terms and conditions. As regards the impact of staffing difficulties on searches, I understand from the authority that while some problems were experienced in late 1999 and in 2000, these problems have now been resolved.
