This report to the Irish Minister for Finance by the Governor of the Central Bank describes the the performance of the respective functions of the Central Bank and Financial Regulator in the period 2003-8 in order to arrive at a fuller understanding of the root causes of the systemic failures...

The Minister for Health claims savings of €600 million due to the 2016-2020 framework agreement (the Agreement) with the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association. But relative to what? No agreement. That seems implausible since such State/industry agreements have been in operation...

The paper argues that the sentences imposed on 31 May 2107 by the Central Criminal Court in the commercial flooring bid-rigging cartel case and the methodology used in setting those sentences seriously undermines the effective enforcement of competition law in Ireland. The sentence imposed on...

A new more effective civil enforcement tool – a Section 14B Court Order – was introduced in 2012 to enhance Ireland’s competition law. Breaching such an order is contempt of court. Fines can be imposed by the courts for contempt, but not for civil breaches of competition law....

On 20 June 2018 the Court of Appeal in Ireland’s first bid-rigging case determined that the €7,500 fine imposed by the lower court on a corporate officer was unduly lenient. It was increased to €45,000. The €10,000 fine on the undertaking was not varied. The effect of the Court’s...

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is proposing: in assessing changes in the ownership and control of broadcasting licenses that the viability/sustainability of broadcasting services should be ranked second out of eight policy objectives; and, facilitating greater concentration of...

In 2019 the Department with responsibility for household waste (HHW) policy in Ireland will commence a review of its 2012 Policy. That review – as anticipated in the 2012 Policy – will rely on the research and analysis of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) on the state...

In 2021 the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), Ireland’s competition agency, advanced the proposition that, in effect, minimum, fixed and, although it appears inadvertent, maximum resale price maintenance (RPM) are per se breaches of competition law. Such a position is...

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) allegations of price signalling in 2015 and 2016 by five insurers, a broker, and a broker representative body with respect to private motor insurance (PMI) premium increases did not reach, based on publicly available information, the...

On 15 December 2022 the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), Ireland’s national competition authority, prohibited the acquisition by Uniphar plc of NaviCorp Limited. In the two decades in which the CCPC has been responsible for merger control this was the first instance in...