As the Deputy is aware, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the statutory independent body responsible for the enforcement of domestic and EU competition law in the State. Section 9 of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 provides that the Commission is independent in the performance of its functions, including carrying out investigations of alleged breaches of the law. As investigations and enforcement matters generally are part of the day-to-day operational work of the Authority, I, as Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, have no direct function in the matter.
If the Deputy is aware of any alleged anti-competitive behaviour that is being practised (be it price-fixing or bid-rigging), I would urge him to forward details to the CCPC for their attention.
It is important to note that the CCPC investigates other infringements of competition law, not just hard-core cartel activities, which also may restrict competition. The CCPC has investigated and successfully challenged (both directly and through the courts) a number of agreements on this basis.
The CCPC was formally established in October 2014. Following its establishment, and in view of the significant number of vacancies that existed at that point in time, the CCPC took the opportunity to review its organisational structure to ensure it would be structured effectively and to ensure it would utilise the extensive professional and technical expertise that existed amongst its staff.
The CCPC is now well advanced into the process of hiring 25 additional staff to make up the numbers that have been depleted over the years and to resource new functions.
Since the most recent recruitment process began the CCPC has filled 12 positions over the last two months. The skill sets recruited include competition and enforcement experts. Many of those recruited have commenced employment or are due to start shortly. The rest of the vacancies are at various stages of the recruitment process, including backfilling for vacancies created where internal staff have been successful in the external competitions and for new vacancies that have arisen as a result of departures (including resignations and retirements). The CCPC expects to have the remaining vacancies filled over the coming months. Some of these vacancies are in the competition enforcement divisions.
I understand from the CCPC that, in addition to a bid rigging cartel case that is currently before the courts, in 2016 the CCPC has already conducted 21 searches of companies suspected of anti-competitive practices. During 2015 the CCPC received 74 allegations of competition law breaches (both civil and criminal) and opened two large scale investigations in respect of anti-competitive agreements, one of which involved searches at five premises in the bagged cement sector. This is in addition to the opening of a cartel investigation into allegations of a criminal breach of competition law in the aviation sector and the closing of two additional investigations. Since 2013, the CCPC has sent one file to the DPP in respect of suspected infringements of Section 4 of the Competition Act 2002. The trial is set to take place in April 2017.
I am confident that the CCPC will continue to carry out its statutory functions in the future.
