Public consultation on enhancing consumer protection, competition and enforcement of consumer law

23rd December 2025  |   Open Consultations

The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment is seeking views on proposed legislative measures through the Consumer Protection, Competition and Enforcement Bill 2026 to strengthen consumer protection and enforcement in Ireland.

These proposals form part of the government’s commitments under the Programme for Government and the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity in the 34th Dáil. They also aim to ensure our framework keeps pace with evolving markets, digital products and EU developments. 

Consumers are the cornerstone of a healthy economy, and businesses thrive when markets are fair, transparent, and competitive. This consultation seeks to strike the right balance—protecting consumers from unfair commercial practices while ensuring businesses operate on a level playing field with clear, proportionate rules.

Your feedback will help shape legislation and guidance that promotes fair competition, safeguards consumer rights, and provides effective enforcement tools without creating unnecessary burdens for businesses.

Background 

The main purpose of the proposed Consumer Protection, Competition and Enforcement Bill 2026 is to: 

  • Introduce administrative financial sanctions for breaches of consumer law, designed to tackle systemic or egregious breaches of consumer law where existing criminal sanctions are insufficient for timely and proportionate enforcement. This approach aligns with international best practice and ensures compliance in a proportionate manner without resorting to lengthy court processes. 
  • Update consumer protection provisions in the Consumer Rights Act 2022 and related regulations where a trader has engaged in prohibited practices resulting in an impediment for a consumer to make an informed decision. 
  • Provide bid-rigging detection powers, intended to protect the integrity of public procurement by enabling the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (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. 
  • Enhance the CCPC powers for enforcement. This will ensure the CCPC has authority comparable to other enforcement bodies when investigating serious breaches of consumer law, while maintaining appropriate safeguards for individual rights. 
  • Align domestic law with EU standards on consumer rights and product liability. 

Key proposals and questions 

Please respond only to the sections and questions that are relevant to your experience or expertise. 

Section A: Administrative financial sanctions 

We propose granting the CCPC powers to impose direct fines on businesses for breaches of consumer law. 

This proposal aligns with Action 57 of the Government’s Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, which notes the government’s intention to provide the CCPC with new powers to impose administrative financial sanctions in respect of breaches of consumer law. 

Administrative fines in consumer protection cases would only be imposed in specific circumstances, such as where there are egregious or systemic breaches of consumer law by a business. This enforcement mechanism is already operational in other jurisdictions, including several EU member states and the UK. 

Question: 

  1. Do you consider the administrative financial sanctions to be complementary to the existing toolkit available to enforce consumer law? 
  1. Do you consider this approach to be aligned with the Better Regulation principles of regulations being effective and proportionate? 

Section B: Tackling bid-rigging

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 considered a serious form of anti-competitive behaviour because it undermines trust in public procurement and harms consumers. 

The Review Group on Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption published a Review of Structures and Strategies to Prevent, Investigate and Penalise Economic Crime and Corruption (Report of the Hamilton Review Group) recommended giving the CCPC the power to access and process public procurement data for the purposes of detecting potential bid-rigging. This power would help the CCPC to identify suspicious patterns early and take effective enforcement action to protect fair competition. 

Question: 

  1. What safeguards should be in place to ensure that the CCPC’s proposed power to screen public procurement data for detecting bid-rigging is exercised fairly, proportionately, and with appropriate protections for sensitive, commercial or personal information? 

Section C: Strengthening consumer rights and remedies 

We are considering changes to make consumer protection legislation clearer and easier to use. This includes: 

  • Updating the Consumer Rights Act 2022 to clarify rules in relation to prohibited practices, for example, clearer rules on how price reductions should be calculated and when consumers can cancel contracts without penalty.
  • Strengthening measures to ensure that consumer rights are upheld and accessible.

Questions:

Knowing your rights and responsibilities 

  1. Are you clear on your rights and responsibilities when buying or selling products or services? 
  1. Are you aware of the rules regarding price reductions and contract cancellations?
  1. Do you feel the current protections and obligations are fair and effective?

(a) For in-store transactions

(b) For online transactions

Getting help 

  1. If an issue arises, do you know where to go for help, advice, or resolution? 
  1. Do you feel confident that the processes in place to resolve issues are clear, accessible, and fair? 

Consumer protection 

  1. What additional measures could strengthen consumer protection? Views may be informed by provisions that exist in other legislation in Ireland, consumer protection provisions in other Member States or other similar jurisdictions e.g. common-law jurisdictions. 

How to respond

Deadline: The closing date for receipt of submissions is 5pm on Friday, 27 February 2026

Submissions: Email submissions to the Consumer Policy Unit at conspol@enterprise.gov.ie 

Please include your name, organisation (if applicable), and contact details. Briefly describe your interest in the subject matter. 

Publication and data protection 

All submissions will be published on the department’s website. Information provided may be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act 2014. If any information is commercially sensitive, please identify and explain why. Personal data will be processed in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

 

Topics: Competition and Consumer Policy, Consumer and Competition, Your Consumer Rights

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