It is over five years now since Irish competition law was, for the third time in a decade, fundamentally revised. The revised statute – the Competition Act 2002 – was heralded by enforcers as “a substantial step forward in the development of a strong and proactive competition policy in Ireland”. In tandem, funding for the Competition Authority – Ireland’s primary competition law enforcement agency – was significantly increased, from around E2m (£1.6m) in 2002 to nearly €5m (£3.9m) today. The question now being asked (including by Department officials), however, is: have the 2002 policy innovations delivered results?
Cartel enforcement
