Irish Competition Law

Ireland is a member state of the European Union and, as such, its competition legislation respects the competition model set out by the European Community. The Competition Law is designed to establish a fair corporate behavior and business freedom on the Irish market; the legislation stipulates which types of actions are considered unfair and it also provides the way in which such situations must be dealt with. Foreign investors interested in the legal environment applicable to businesses in Ireland can receive an in-depth presentation from our Irish law firm. 

 

 

The Irish law on competition  is given by the Competition Act 2002, an official document which prescribes the competition rules and the way in which they will be enforced. As such, the Act states that agreements signed by companies which have as an effect the distortion or restriction of competition in trade (for any kind of services or products)  are strictly forbidden.

 

More exactly, the Act stipulates as a prohibited agreement the one in which the parts involved have set a selling/purchase price which is against the trading conditions. It is also forbidden to control the production or technical development or to apply different contractual conditions to transactions which can be considered equivalent, as a party will be affected by a competitive disadvantage; our lawyers in Ireland can provide you with more details on the prohibited corporate actions. 

 

The competition legislation is applied by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), a body which was founded on 31st of October 2014; the body replaces two former regulatory bodies, which are the Competition Authority and National Consumer Agency. 

 

CCPC has the legal right to investigate the activity of the businesses in Ireland and, if there are identified breaches of the legislation, the body will act by enforcing the rules and regulations of the law.   

 

If you need further information on the competition law in Ireland, please contact our Irish lawyers, who can offer you assistance on this matter.