Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
472. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether his Department has received any briefings, reports, or risk assessments from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission regarding cartel behaviour or bid-rigging in public procurement for State-funded projects; the dates of any such briefings since 2022; the sectors concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9320/26]
View answer473. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether his Department has undertaken or commissioned any assessment of the estimated cost to the Exchequer arising from cartel activity or bid-rigging in public procurement; whether any modelling exists estimating price inflation attributable to such practices; and if he will outline any findings available to his Department.. [9321/26]
View answer474. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the legislative or policy measures are currently under consideration to strengthen the detection and deterrence of cartel behaviour in public procurement, including any proposals to enhance the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s access to procurement data held by public bodies; and the expected timeline for any such measures. [9322/26]
View answer475. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether there is a formal interdepartmental framework in place between his Department, the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to address cartel behaviour in public procurement; when such arrangements were established; and the way accountability and reporting are structured. [9327/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 472, 473, 474 and 475 together.
Bid-rigging happens when businesses secretly agree to fix the outcome of a tender or bidding process instead of competing fairly. This can lead to higher prices, less choice, and wasted public money. It is a serious form of anti-competitive behaviour, it undermines trust in public procurement and it harms consumers.
The Review of Structures and Strategies to Prevent, Investigate and Penalise Economic Crime and Corruption, often referred to as ‘the Hamilton Report’ was published in December 2020. It contained a number of recommendations focusing primarily on legislative, structural, and resourcing measures to enhance the capacity of agency and multi-agency enforcement and the prevention of corruption and white-collar crime offences.
The Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, published by my Department in September 2025, includes an action to provide the CCPC with the power to carry out screening for bid rigging. In December 2025, my Department launched a public consultation proposing substantial new measures under the Consumer Protection, Competition and Enforcement Bill 2026, including providing bid-rigging detection powers, intended to protect the integrity of public procurement by enabling the CCPC to screen procurement data for patterns of collusion, as recommended by the Hamilton Report. This leverages public sector data to safeguard competition and prevent waste of public funds. The closing date for receipt of submissions is 5pm on Friday, 27 February 2026.
In relation to the question of whether there is a formal interdepartmental framework in place, the Advisory Council against Economic Crime and Corruption is a cross-sectoral advisory group with membership consisting, inter alia, of the CCPC, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, the Department of Justice and the Department of Public Expenditure Infrastructure Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. It was established in 2021 pursuant to recommendations of the Hamilton Review Group and assigned work in relation to screening for bid-rigging to the Economic Crime and Corruption Forum (“the Forum”). The Forum agreed a number of recommendations regarding the legislative amendments necessary to implement the Hamilton Report’s recommendations on bid-rigging, which were adopted by the Advisory Council and submitted to Department of Justice in February 2023.
