Competing fairly - Ireland

Updated 11/2012

Legal requirements

Ireland's Competition law is based on the:

Competition Act 2002 [187 KB]
Competition Amendment Act 2006 [317 KB]
Competition (Amendment) Act 2012 [42 KB]

Irish Competition Law prohibits any business practice likely to prevent, restrict or distort competition in trade.

The Competition Act 2002 sets out the specific practices which are expressly prohibited:

fixing prices;
limiting or controlling production or markets;
sharing markets or sources of supply;
applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties;
attaching supplementary obligations to a commercial contract which have nothing to do with the subject of the contract.

Anti-trust

Agreements

Irish Competition law prohibits cartel activity, which according to the Irish Competition Authority can include:

price-fixing,
bid rigging,
market sharing by competitors.

There are criminal penalties of up to ten years in prison (for individuals) and fines of up to €5,000,000 or 10% of turnover (whichever is the greater) for individuals and undertakings.

BASIS - information on Cartels

Abuse of dominant position

The Competition Act also prohibits abuse of a dominant position. Generally speaking, a firm is considered dominant if it is able to act without taking account of the reaction of its customers or its rivals. The Act is not breached when a firm's vigorous competition takes sales away from less efficient rivals - this is competition working properly.

BASIS - information on Monopolies and abuse of a dominant position

Misleading and Comparative Marketing Communications

Directive 2006/114/EC on Misleading and Comparative Advertising protects traders against misleading advertising and lays down the conditions under which comparative advertising is permitted. The Directive has been given effect in Ireland by the European Communities (Misleading and Comparative Marketing Communications) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 774/2007).

Legislation on misleading and comparative marketing communications

State aid

State Aid refers to forms of assistance from a public body, or publicly funded body, given to undertakings on a discretionary basis, with the potential to distort competition and affect trade between member states of the EU.

In general, State aid is banned because of its anti-competitive effects. However, various categories of schemes are approved because their positive effects are considered to outweigh their negative impact. There are a number of state aid schemes to support companies, provided by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation (DJEI).

DJEI - State Aid Section

Consumer protection

The National Consumer Agency enforces a wide range of consumer protection laws, including laws on:

deceptive trading practices (including unfair, misleading and aggressive);
unfair contract terms;
consumer safety (mandatory standards);
unit pricing;
price displays.
National Consumer Agency

National competition authorities

The Competition Authority is responsible for the enforcement of Irish competition law which is designed primarily to protect and benefit the consumer. The Authority will investigate complaints about anti-competitive practices such as price-fixing.

Competition Authority

Strict provisions govern company mergers

Mergers — Ireland

Administrative procedures

Merger notification

Mergers and acquisitions of businesses with a turnover above certain thresholds must be notified to the Competition Authority.

Some exceptions to these general rules apply, including mergers and acquisitions of media organisations which must be notified to the Authority irrespective of the turnover of the organisations involved and some mergers and acquisitions involving banks which should be notified to the Minister of Finance, rather than to the Authority.

There is also a provision for Voluntary notification for mergers and acquisitions that do not meet the financial thresholds but have the potential to substantially lessen competition in the State.

State Aid notification

The Department of Jobs Enterprise, and Innovation (DJEI) notifies the European Commission, where necessary, of any state aid schemes under its responsibility. It also advises other government departments in Ireland on compliance with EU State Aid rules.

DJEI - State Aid section

Complaints

Complaints on allegedly unlawful state aid can be filed online with the European Commission's Competition Directorate General.

Complaint form

Buyers of goods and services, including businesses, can contact the Competition Authority and report suspected anticompetitive behaviour. There is a complaint form on the Authority's website.

Submit a Complaint to the Competition Authority

Resources

Business Access to State Information and Services (BASIS) delivers government information and services to businesses online. The information is structured around the lifecycle of a business, such as starting up or employing staff.

BASIS

The Department of Jobs Enterprise, and Innovation has a role to promote competition in all sectors of the economy, in the framework of Competition legislation.

Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation

Check also the legislation on this topic in:

Competing fairly - Ireland