The competition watchdog reviewed 68 mergers last year – down slightly from 70 in 2022 – according to its annual report.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) was also involved in ‘dawn raids’ on four premises as part of two separate competition probes.

Of the 66 determinations it issued during the year, four required commitments to secure approval. Half of the 66 were issued under the CCPC’s quicker ‘simplified merger-notification procedure’.

Compliance notices

One court prosecution for car crime was concluded in 2023, according to the report, while the commission also carried out 84 non-court enforcement actions.

During 2023, 24 compliance notices were issued to retailers for misleading pricing, incorrect returns information, and not having a link on their website to the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform.

Compensation of €11,000 was paid to consumers as part of two compliance notices issued by the CCPC for car crime in 2023.

The watchdog also issued 52 fixed-payment notices last year – 39 involved cases where the selling price of a product was not indicated. It says that the number of fines it imposed more than trebled in 2023.

Unsafe products

Seven enforcement notices were served on importers attempting to bring non-compliant products into Ireland, while 1,678 electrical and toy products were prevented from being placed on the Irish market.

The CCPC says that its market surveillance resulted in 58,193 unsafe products being recalled or withdrawn from the Irish market.

“This year the new competition law came into force, giving the CCPC new fining and surveillance powers, allowing us to gather more evidence quickly and fine guilty companies,” said chair Brian McHugh.

“With the help of these new powers, we will move faster, take more cases, and become even more of a deterrent to bad actors in the Irish marketplace,” he added.

The commission now has more than 200 staff.