Specialist garda team join Competition Authority
Three garda detectives have joined the authority, which now has a beefed-up cartels division and tough new powers under legislation, which came into effect last month.
The new head of the authority's cartel division, Terry Galvani, said he was confident their new powers would result in successful prosecutions.
"Over time, I'm convinced we're going to see a change for the better. The key thing is successful prosecutions which results in the imposition of substantial penalties," he said.
The authority has come in for criticism over its failure to secure prosecutions against cartels over the least five years.
But it says it is now in a position to take a tough enforcement stance on anti-competition activity thanks to its new powers of investigations.
Mr Galvani said he expected more cartel information to flow to it following the setting up of a Cartel Immunity Programme.
Until now authorities had been hampered by under-staffing, which has resulted in more cartel cases being settled out of court, according to Competition Authority chairman Dr John Fingleton.
Mr Galvani said many people in business needed to be educated over their obligations under competition law, but insisted most
engaged in cartel activity were aware they were breaking the law.
Mr Galvani, a former chairman of the US Federal Trade Commission and a lecturer in competition law at Harvard, said Ireland's anti-cartel regime was one of the most advanced in the world.
He said there were still elements of the competition law that could be added to and improved, but said many other countries in Europe would be seeking to catch-up with Ireland's anti-trust measures.
