Ireland has claimed a number of firsts in the criminal enforcement of competition law this year. In March, an Irish court became the first in the European Union (EU) to impose a prison sentence for cartel activity and, more recently, County Cork became the location of the first arrest for cartel activity in the EU.
These cases are significant as Ireland is one of the few EU member states to have adopted criminal penalties for breaches of competition law. Despite evidence that criminal sanctions provide a more effective deterrent to cartel activity, administrative or civil penalties are still preferred in Europe as the perception remains that it is difficult to obtain criminal convictions in relation to cartel activity. For this reason, the recent prosecutions and convictions in Ireland are attracting much interest.
