Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 April 2012
28 Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of complaints currently lodged with the Competition Authority; the number still extant after one year; the number of cases still extant after two, five and ten years; and his views on the resources and powers required by the Competition Authority to ensure timely and full compliance with Competition Law. [20895/12]
View answerDetails of the number of complaints received by the Competition Authority and the number of active investigations are available in the Authority's Annual Report 2011 which is available on its website: www.tca.ie.
A review of the staffing resources of the Authority has recently been undertaken in accordance with an EU/IMF commitment in this area to ascertain whether resourcing is sufficient to allow adequate enforcement capacity of the legislative framework. On foot of this review I am pleased to announce that I have approved an additional ten staff for the enforcement function of the Authority. The necessary steps to fill these posts are being undertaken within the Department and the Authority in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
