The Competition Authority is studying the market for professional services and the study aims to identify any unnecessary or disproportionate restrictions to entry to the various professions under examination.
The authority engaged Indecon Economic Consultants to carry out initial work on the study which it published a report in 2003. The Indecon report found that there were three types of restriction common across the eight professions examined. Indecon found entry restrictions in seven of the eight professions examined comprising academic requirements, professional education and training requirements and character requirements. It also found that professions impose restrictions on the transfer of qualified practitioners from other countries into the Irish market. The eight professions under examination are engineers, architects, veterinarians, dentists, optometrists, medical practitioners, barristers, and solicitors. The authority intends to complete its study later this year.