Enforcement
The law is enforced by the Irish Competition Authority, who review mergers, and investigate cartels and abuse of dominance by undertakings. They can fine offenders, when can be appealed to the High Court. Private enforcement is also possible. An aggrieved party may sue the offender for damages under the Competition Act. However this facility has not been exercised much, possibly due to the difficulty of gathering evidence to prove such a breach. Regulation 1/2003 of the European Commission sought to increase private and public enforcement of EC rules in national courts to allow the commission to concentrate on bigger cases.
The Competition Authority operates a Cartel Immunity Programme which allows for immunity or leniency in sentencing for offenders which supply information to them that allows the prosecution of other breaches of the law. The rule mirrors the European Commission's Leniency policy.
Irish competition law also regulates certain mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. Part III of the Competition Act 2002 provides that the Competition Authority must approve transactions which fall within the scope of Part III before they may be lawfully implemented.
Ireland has achieved considerable success in enforcing competition law by virtue of successful criminal prosecutions against various individuals and companies. It has almost thirty convictions for competition law breaches including jury convictions for cartel-related activity.
Read more about this topic: Irish Competition Law