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New chair of competition body is named

Brian McHugh is to be the chair of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).

McHugh has been a member of the commission since 2017, leading the organisation on competition enforcement and mergers, policy research and international issues.

He replaces Jeremy Godfrey, who was appointed executive chair of media watchdog Coimisiún na Meán earlier this year.

New powers

The appointment was made by Simon Coveney (Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment) and takes effect from 2 August 2023.

McHugh said that the CCPC intended to use its new legal powers in the months ahead to "tackle head-on" businesses practices that were causing major consumer detriment and damaging competition.

"A key area of focus for the CCPC is strengthening our work in detecting bid-rigging, protecting the taxpayer’s annual procurement budget of €18.5 billion, and utilising these new powers to investigate more competition-law breaches – including price fixing and abusive behaviour by dominant firms."

'Significant change'

Dara Calleary (Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation) said that McHugh’s appointment came at a time of significant change for the CCPC.

“He will lead in strengthening the CCPC’s work in detecting anti-competitive practices, such as bid-rigging and price-fixing,” the minister stated.

He added that McHugh’s experience would be valuable as the CCPC focused on new domestic and EU legislation – including the Digital Services Act and the Consumer Rights Act 2022.