Funding boost for consumer protection

THE Government is to beef up the powers of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency as the Eddie Hobbs factor continues to haunt it.

Following persistent criticism of the lack of funding available to the Competition Authority in recent years and months, an extra €738,000 will be made available next year to allow the authority to double the size of its cartel division.

Announcing the increase, Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin said it would enable the Competition Authority “to substantially increase the number of investigations that it can carry out into criminal breaches of the Competition Act.”