Matt Shanahan Challenges Competition Bill on White-Collar Crime
Matt Shanahan challenged the minister over a proposed competition bill intended to align domestic law with the European ECN Plus directive and to strengthen powers to tackle white-collar and economic crime. He argued the bill may fall short on enforcement, asking whether it would deliver meaningful civil and criminal sanctions or prevent repeats of past failings such as the banking crisis.
Legislative purpose
The deputy said the bill's preamble frames the measure as giving effect to the Directive of 11 December 2018 to empower competition authorities, known as ECN Plus, and as an alignment of national competition law with EU legislation.
Enforcement and the banking crisis
He questioned how the new powers would have been applied to the banking crisis, asking where sanctions were placed and whether those who colluded over interest rates, asset reporting and hedging positions were properly pursued. He said the State had largely failed to hold criminal colluders to account and asked whether the bill would protect against a repeat and provide a sufficient deterrent.
Surveillance, evidence and cartels
The deputy highlighted difficulties in detecting cartels given limits on surveilling and accessing financial statements and records. He noted the bill describes that the powers of Comrade and the CCPC are to be strengthened and somewhat merged, and he welcomed enhanced entry and surveillance powers while questioning whether they would be enough.
Public procurement and construction materials
He raised concerns about public sector procurement and the construction industry, citing widely aligned prices for building materials in Ireland compared with the European mainland. He asked whether material specifications in tender contracts could be reviewed to allow wider choice and lower costs.
Insurance and legal services concerns
The deputy pointed to a previously dysfunctional motor insurance market and asked what sanctions the CCPC had applied to companies that broke consumer law. He also queried whether anti-competitive or criminal practices could persist in personal indemnity, employer's liability and occupier's liability insurance, and whether fraudulent personal injury claims involving legal professionals might be both criminal and anti-competitive.
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Minister, the preamble in your bill suggests that it will give effect to Directive 2.19.1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective in forces and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market, ECN Plus, or the European Competitions Network. Essentially, it is an alignment of our competition law with the present EU legislation. You also suggest, Minister, that the enactment of this legislation, further to some additional amendments you wish to propose, will strengthen the powers of the State in tackling white-collar crime, economic crime and corruption. I suppose, Minister, we have heard others in the House the discussion of specific sectors of concern, such as public sector procurement, the construction industry, the insurance services and possibly even legal services and financial services sectors. I would ask you a question, Minister, the legislation that you are proposing today. If the question was asked in the House today, what, where and on whom were sanctions placed as a result of the banking crisis, what the answer would be and how this legislation might actually overturn that? Do we seriously think that there was significant effort made to criminally pursue those who colluded regarding the positioning of interest rates, the over-reporting of assets, the under-declaring of positions with respect to currency hedging and contracts for difference? Again, how would this legislation that you are now proposing treat that situation again? I think we know, Minister, we largely failed in our obligation to hold those who are criminally colluding to account within the banking crisis. I think most people would like to know now, if this legislation is enacted, will we be protected from such a repeat scenario? And does this legislation deliver the required deterrent by way of criminal sanctions? A significant emphasis has been placed by you, Minister, on the ability of this legislation framed within the context of European Competition Network Law as being positioned to combat national and international cartels. But, Minister, how would we know if such cartels are in operation, considering up to now the difficulty in surveilling and getting access to financial statements and records? In the bill, you describe that the powers of Comrade and the CCPC are to be strengthened and somewhat merged in order to meet this challenge and that future surveillance powers and powers of entry will assist this battle. And this is welcome, Minister, but will it be enough? I imagine companies who engage in international price collusion, who deliberately set out to rig bids, who deliberately compete for some tenders but strategically withdraw for others, are not waiting around with their filing cabinets full of incriminating evidence, waiting for the CCPC to come and knock on their door or Comrade. In the case of the Public Procurement Minister, surely analysis of tender bids would point to possible price fixing. But given that many of our large-scale public procurement tenders are refined down to a shortlist of three to five, it is difficult to see where and how significant price collusion might be occurring. Quantity surveillance and measurement software would probably indicate where significant or even extraordinary price gouging is taking place, if only we had the ability to properly implement it. I have raised in this House Minister a number of times the price of general building materials in this country and how they are so similarly aligned. And yet it is possible to buy similar quantities of these materials on the European mainland at significant price reductions, not explainable by transport costs, warehousing or other logistics. In the context of a free European market with open borders and transparent pricing, how does this situation persist? In terms of building specifications, has your Department Minister any intention of looking at the materials specification and what manufacturers are specified within public procurement tender contracts? How is it, for example, that we can arrive at specifications and dimensions for timber and insulation materials, for example, that are not specified in other European country tenders, thereby offering much wider choice and better cost options? You have highlighted our dysfunctional car insurance industry minister, the deliberate concealing of insurance fees and claims data for years, that would have allowed further international motor insurance underwriting, if potential competitor companies were able to assess the market intelligence and dynamics that were taking place. But they were precluded, and this resulted in no new appetite to enter the market for many years. I know this situation has been largely resolved with respect to the motor insurance sector, and we now have up to 40 companies bidding for motor insurance in this country. But what were the sanctions minister prescribed from the CCPC for those companies who were in effect breaking European consumer law? Despite progress in the motor insurance market, do you believe, minister, there might be anti-competitive practices still ongoing in relation to personal indemnity insurance, employer's liability insurance, occupier's liability insurance? Could instances of fraudulent personal injury claims supported in some instances by legal professionals not be considered to be anti-competitive as well as downright criminal? Will this legislation that you are proposing here tonight, minister, tackle the white-collar crime and provide civil and criminal sanctions for those found guilty of same, and will they be pursued? I fully understand the need for this legislation to comply with European legislation and for our courts to integrate accordingly. But we have a history, minister, in this country of not pursuing white-collar crime, even when we do, derisory financial punishments are usually the order of the day. If there is tea to this legislation, minister, the public will need to see them in order to have any confidence that this is a game-changing proposal of yours, which I hope it is. Let's go there. Let's go there. There we go. Now let's go there. Let's go there.
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