Ireland’s consumer watchdog lacks the teeth to properly take on businesses that break the law and let people down, its chairman has admitted.
Speaking at an event in Dublin to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), Brian McHugh called on the Government to give it more powers to impose meaningful financial penalties on companies found to have broken the law.
The CCPC was set up in October 2014 following the merger of the National Consumer Agency and the Competition Authority, and is responsible for enforcing and promoting compliance with competition, consumer protection and product safety laws along with roles in digital and data regulation.
Although the event highlighted a “decade of safeguarding consumer rights and promoting fair competition”, Mr McHugh said more could and should be done to protect consumers from companies that fail to follow the law.
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“This week the Data Protection Commission fined a social media company €310 million, but earlier this year when Tesco pleaded guilty to failing to display prices correctly, the outcome was a €1,000 donation to charity,” he said.
[ Tesco Ireland pleads guilty to Clubcard pricing failuresOpens in new window ]
“The current consumer protection regime is no deterrent; consumers deserve better,” he continued as he called on the Government to “give us the power to impose large fines for serious offences – a percentage of that business’s turnover”.
Mr McHugh also highlighted the persistent issue of consumer protection law violations, which inflict significant damage on Irish consumers and businesses: “Our inspectors find businesses following the law, showing that it’s not complicated to do so,” he said.
“To send a clear message to all businesses on the importance of consumer protection law, the punishment should fit the crime. Fines need to be big enough to stop even the largest businesses from breaking the law.”
Speaking at the same event the Minister for State at the Department of Enterprise Emer Higgins praised the CCPC’s decade-long contribution to Irish society and said it had “made a significant impact across competition, consumer protection and product safety. In recognition of its important role in the continued strength of the Irish economy”.
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