Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 July 2018
317. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the progress to date by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission regarding a screening programme for procurement processes which systematically searches for indications that bid-rigging may have occurred. [32127/18]
View answerThe Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the statutory body responsible for the enforcement of competition and consumer law in the State. Section 9(5) of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 provides that the CCPC is independent in the performance of its functions, including carrying out investigations of suspected breaches of competition law. As investigations and enforcement matters are part of the day-to-day operational work of the CCPC, I, as Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation have no direct function in the matter and it would be inappropriate for me to comment.
I understand that the CCPC continues to work with various State agencies and organisations to develop awareness of the warning signs of bid-rigging and to explore the potential for developing screening tools in the procurement process. I am also informed that the CCPC has continued to research screening initiatives elsewhere and plans to host an initiative to provide relevant agencies and organisations in Ireland with information from various international agencies who have experiences of utilising the informational advantage of the public sector to detect and deter bid rigging in public tendering.
