body responsible for enforcing Irish and European Union
competition law and our mission is to ensure that markets work
well for Irish consumers, business and the economy. In essence,
the Competition Authority polices competition law.
business that buys goods and services and for the Irish economy
overall. Competition in Irish markets will contribute to long term
competitiveness and the recovery of the Irish economy.
that negatively impact on the competitive landscape, thus
harming consumers (which includes businesses as consumers).
public authorities and other bodies involved in policy
development and implementation on ways to protect and
improve competition in the economy
benefit consumers are allowed to go ahead, while mergers
that substantially reduce competition are not
the benefits of competition and our role through various
activities. We have a number of information booklets
available at www.tca.ie.
action against suspected anti-competitive behaviour. The Courts
can impose severe penalties for those that break the law.
Individuals and businesses can face fines of up to 5m, or 10%
of turnover and, in the case of `hardcore' infringements of the
law, prison terms of up to 10 years, plus automatic disqualification
from being a director for five years. A hardcore breach of the
law is the most serious form of infringement. These are often
referred to as cartel offences. Examples of these include
price-fixing, market-sharing and bid-rigging.
anti-competitive behaviour in the first place. Therefore it makes
sense to comply with the law.
consequences of infringing competition law in general can be very
serious. All agreements which have as their object or effect the
prevention or restriction of competition in trade in any goods or
services in the State are prohibited. These type of agreements
can also lead to private actions for damages by individuals or
businesses, who suffered a loss as a result of the behaviour.
Under the Competition (Amendment) Act 2012, directors can also
be disqualified from holding directorships for civil breaches of
competition law.