Competition (Amendment) Act 2012 (No 18 of 2012)

The Competition (Amendment) Act 2012 strengthens the enforcement of competition law in the State.

The Act’s provisions include:

• the maximum imprisonment sentence on conviction on indictment of an offence relating to anti-competitive agreements, decisions and concerted practices is to be raised from 5 to 10 years
• increases in fines that can be imposed for various breaches of Competition law, including an increase in the level of fine for criminal conviction of hard-core offences from €4 million to €5 million
• an amendment to the Companies Act 1990 to add non-indictable contraventions of section 4 or 5 of the 2002 Competition Act to the list of circumstances under which the court may order that a person shall not be appointed as a company director
• enabling commitments given to the Competition Authority to be made rules of court
• Section (1) of the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 will not apply to certain offences in respect of anti-competitive practices or abuse of dominant position
• the specific inclusion of interim, interlocutory and permanent injunctions as reliefs
• an easing of the burden of proof for private plaintiffs taking a follow-on case for damages following public enforcement proceedings where a Court determines that an undertaking has engaged in prohibited conduct or practices.

Competition Act 2002

Competition (Amendment) Act 2006

Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014