The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is responsible for enforcing a wide range of consumer protection legislation and uses its powers to stop practices that mislead, are unfair to, or harm consumers. The CCPC does this in its role as the independent statutory body under the remit of my Department, with responsibility enforcing competition and consumer law.
Actions taken under the Consumer Protection Act 2007 are a matter for CCPC and as Minister I have no role in this regard. The [CCPC website (www.ccpc.ie/business/enforcement/consumer-protection/consumer-protection-list/)] lists details of all of their enforcement actions.
In relation to coordination mechanisms, there is provision in the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 which provides for cooperation and information sharing between the CCPC and other prescribed bodies, including the FSAI. In addition, the National Criminal Investigation Forum, which is made up of representatives from the majority of regulators in the State, including CCPC and the FSAI, meets three times a year. The focus is on networking and peer learning in terms of common challenges and best practice.
As the Deputy will be aware, food labelling, accurate information on meat origin and the oversight of these matters generally falls under the remit of the Department of Health, as the Food Safety Authority, FSAI, has this responsibility.
